PRIME Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced yesterday the various measures and conditions for opening up economic activities and particularly social mobility all across the nation, including overseas travel returnees.
In response to the worrisome “standards” that the PM claimed are scientific, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) leadership has tabled an advisory that makes even more sense.
PH today cautioned that five parameters should be fulfilled to curb a fresh Covid-19 surge, after the government yesterday announced the easing of restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals.
In its statement, the PH health committee proposed that a nationwide vaccination coverage of at least 60% must be achieved before any hasty move to open up.
Going by our experience this past one year, we have put up with decisions made by the Perikatan National (PN) government that saw reverse gears and hasty changes from its trial and error operatives.
Certainly, we do not want repeats of such disastrous policy decisions especially when the vaccination rates in the country range from 30% to 80% per state.
PH further suggests that all high-risk groups and those with comorbidities should receive both doses of the vaccine, for the healthcare capacity to drop to under 70%.
It makes even more sense especially when our senior citizen population is in the 10% region of the country’s citizenry (not including the five to eight million migrant population).
PH also moots that the government should adopt the “find, test, trace, isolate and support” strategy, as well as for the Covid-19 incidence rate to be at fewer than 250 active cases per 100,000 population.
Wonder why the PM’s advisers missed all of the above key considerations, which could enable us to battle the new and more virulent strains emerging.
If the health DG’s alerts, warnings and pleas are truthful, then how could the PM have overlooked and announced a seemingly unscientific opening up plan of action?
After all, as PH well resonates what is in the minds of the citizens including various experts in the country, do we not want to transition the nation safely and sustainably, with due care and caution?
Seriously there is an express need and categorical duty for the government to respect and preserve the fine balance between lives and livelihoods, and the protection of the nation’s economic health as well as citizens’ physical and psychological health (all widely referred to and reported in several online news portals).
The long, indefinite and now confused “total lockdowns” and the accompanying MCO variations have already stalled if not ripped off our economy. Do we want to suddenly rush and end up with a devastating rise in deaths and critical patient loads?
Our beloved nation is very tiny. Within a day you can cover the length of the country, crossing state boundaries.
The virus respects no state boundaries or exemptions based on differing percentages of vaccinated groups.
Already our police force is overworked with unending police reports, mounting investigations and battling checkpoints while also looking into crime in the country.
Once you open up with all the varied measures as announced by the PM, can you imagine the toll it will take on our duty-bound men and women in blue?
And the practicality of the enforcement will eventuality become a silly, sick joke, too.
So, looking at PH’s more comprehensive, cautious and informed suggestion, how can we not lose confidence in the current leadership that only claims it is making decisions based on “scientific” data? – The Vibes, August 9, 2021
J.D. Lovrenciear is a The Vibes reader
