KOTA KINABALU – The “DG takut mati” (“health director-general is afraid of dying”) remark made by Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing on Thursday reflects increasing public frustration, said Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Yong Teck Lee.
Yong said in a statement today that Malaysians are appreciative of health frontliners, but are puzzled by the repeated assurances of the health director-general that medical facilities, personal protection equipment, and manpower are sufficient.
“At times, the brave statements by the top brass do not tally with the harsh reality on the ground,” said Yong, who is the sole Chinese-nominated assemblyman in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-led state government.
“The harsh reality is faced not only by health frontliners, but also welfare and security workers. As frontliners are not allowed to speak up, they hope that politicians, such as their elected representatives, can speak for them.
“We should not wait for another protest such as the one in Lahad Datu on Tuesday where hundreds of hungry and suffering residents staged an angry demonstration at the police barrier against the continued lockdown (enhanced movement control order).
“Complete chaos and breakdown in law and order were only averted when authorities lifted the lockdown. It seems that the lockdown was insisted on by medical authorities against the views of the security and local administrators.
“Those residents had lost their patience and perseverance when they found out that their lockdown had been extended.
“Obviously, some residents panicked and became angry when they saw no hope of getting food and supplies for their families. This is a basic human reaction that the medical authorities should have foreseen,” he said.
Meanwhile, Yong said Tiong had also spoken of a recent incident involving a family who went to Taiwan to collect the ashes of their daughter.
“The Bintulu MP was relating to the tragic case of a rape-murder victim in Taiwan,” said Yong.
“Apparently, the family of the victim was made to undergo a 14-day quarantine at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport even though the family had already tested negative for Covid-19 in Taiwan.”
The family had travelled to Taiwan from Sarawak to collect the remains of the victim.
“Why is there a need to quarantine those who had already tested negative for Covid-19?”
Yong added that he heard some people in home quarantine in Kota Kinabalu were not able to leave home to buy food, but the Welfare Department and local authorities could not identify those under home quarantine.
“Instead, the government asked those in quarantine to apply to the government for food aid,” said Yong.
“Why can’t the health authorities inform the local authorities about those in quarantine and provide addresses so food aid can be sent as soon as possible?” – The Vibes, November 14, 2020
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