RECENTLY, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a television interview that he’s willing to take abuse for the tough measures by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“They can scold the prime minister. I accept. Scold ‘stupid prime minister’, it’s okay,” he was quoted as saying.
Since then, the PM has been mocked for being self-deprecatory and for “admitting” to being a fool. But this begs the question, who is really being the fool here as the nation faces its most ominous crisis since the 1969 racial riots?
On Saturday, the country recorded a record high in new Covid-19 infections at 9,020 cases for the fifth consecutive day, with another record 98 deaths. Just the day earlier, Putrajaya announced a two-week full lockdown nationwide starting June 1 as public health capacities buckle under the sheer weight of the Covid-19 caseload and body count.
One would think that such grim numbers, coupled with tragic tales in the media of how some lost multiple family members to the coronavirus within days of each other, would strike horror and panic among Malaysians.
Unfortunately, a sizeable number of us still pay no heed to such warnings. Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah must have been equally stumped and dumbfounded when he shared on his social media photos of traffic jams in the Klang Valley on Saturday.
One can almost hear the disappointment and helplessness in his tone when he posted on Facebook, “Where are you all going?” together with the photos of the traffic snarls. Why Malaysians need to be out and about in such numbers at a time when our fight against the unseen enemy is at its most critical, defies reasoning.
The statistics speak for themselves. Noor Hisham has said that some 26 Hari Raya clusters were detected involving 1,013 positive cases and two deaths. The National Security Council had explicitly banned Raya gatherings.
The infection rate for such clusters was 25.1% – far exceeding the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of below 5%. As the incubation period for the virus is around two weeks, we can only expect more Raya clusters to show up in the days ahead.
From April 1 to May 28, 20 interstate clusters were also detected, involving 1,420 cases. Surely, not all of them were travelling due to work. Have they forgotten that the virus travels with them, infecting their family members and loved ones, at times killing them?
These irresponsible people who think they are immune to a virus that has killed millions worldwide are also not being fair to those who dutifully abide by the standard operating procedure (SOP) like staying at home, unless for an emergency or to buy necessities. And they are being reckless, bordering on the criminal, by putting the lives of others at risk.
And by collectively contributing to the spike in cases, they have forced the government to impose a nationwide full lockdown. In one fell swoop, the country loses hundreds of millions of ringgit a day, denying daily wage-earners the opportunity to put food on the table, businesses shuttering and jobs lost.
The question that begs an answer now is that “Is the prime minister stupid for being forced to impose strict measures?” or “Are the people who, through their heedlessness in complying with simple SOP, stupid?” – May 31, 2021.
* Subramaniam Muthali reads The Malaysian Insight.
* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.
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For decades, we elected idiots to govern.
Look down south for how a model government should be .... run by the best, brightest, talented and most competent.
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