KUALA LUMPUR – The people are forced to bear the brunt of the government’s incompetence in not acting swiftly against the worsening Covid-19 situation earlier, and now have to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri in a muted fashion, said Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The former prime minister said the movement control order (MCO) in several states, announced this week, should have been imposed much earlier and not over the festive period.
Taking to Facebook, Najib said the early signs were already evident since March that Covid-19 cases were on the uptick, but the government made no efforts to address this.
“The government has been warned by various quarters since two months ago that Covid-19 cases are remaining high and that the infection rate has been increasing consistently.
“That should have been the most appropriate time to implement MCO 3.0, not wait until Hari Raya to do it,” he said today.
Najib said that he believes the reason a lockdown was not imposed then was because the government had only just lifted MCO 2.0 on March 4.
This was despite there being more infections recorded daily compared with before the restrictions were enforced in March.
“One thing that does not make sense – and this is the first such case in the world – is when a country exits from a lockdown with more daily new cases compared with when it entered the lockdown.
“However, the government couldn’t have announced MCO 3.0 just a month after MCO 2.0 ended. Many would have been furious. This is why they are announcing it now, despite it coinciding with Hari Raya.”
The government had recently announced the MCO in several areas nationwide, including Kuala Lumpur and six districts in Selangor.
A number of strict standard operating procedures were also announced, aimed at limiting travelling and visiting homes during the Hari Raya festive period. – Bernama, May 7, 2021
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