KUALA LUMPUR – The nationwide declaration of emergency and movement control orders (MCO) indicate Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) commitment to playing politics instead of battling the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim pointed out that both orders contradict each other, and gave five reasons why it is so.
Firstly, Sim highlighted that this second MCO is far less restricted than the one imposed in March last year.
“Under MCO 2.0, a lot of sectors are allowed to operate. Sports activities are allowed at a minimum level. Government offices and schools are also allowed to operate,” he said in a statement.
He went on to question how PN intends to achieve the results of the first MCO if the current one is more lenient, adding that “under MCO 2.0, factories are allowed to operate when there are several clusters involving factories”.
Secondly, Sim questioned the government’s decision to impose a nationwide emergency, while the MCO is not being implemented at the maximum level.
“The prime minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) said under an emergency, the government could enact ordinances to ease efforts to control the pandemic. The question is: what about the laws we already have, including the MCO. Is it preventing the government from doing its job?” he asked, pointing to the elephant in the room, which is the fact that the government is trying to avoid a general election.
However, he stressed that opposition MPs are also against having an election before the health situation is under control.
“Now, it seems that Umno is the only party demanding a snap election, but not all their MPs are making such demands.”
As for the next contradiction, Sim highlighted the suspension of Parliament, but not the executive and judiciary.
He said it is clear that this decision allows Muhyiddin to stay in power, despite not having the backing of the majority.
“The prime minister is worried that if Parliament is allowed to meet, his loss of confidence in the chamber will be revealed.”
Finally, Steven mentioned that these contradictions will less likely result in the government flattening the curve of the pandemic.
“With a more lenient MCO and without a clear strategy to empower the public health system, the people are concerned whether Putrajaya is indeed committed to fighting the pandemic.” – The Vibes, January 14, 2021
