KUALA LUMPUR – Several opposition MPs have expressed disappointment in Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s lack of clarity around the National Recovery Plan to uplift the country from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
They said there are matters Muhyiddin failed to address in the plan, such as what activities are considered high-risk and proper timelines for the opening up of the economy.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil said Muhyiddin’s recovery plan is far from watertight, and seems to be more of a reaction to external political pressure.
“Muhyiddin only talked about this exit strategy when PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim began the narrative on post-Covid-19.
“In other words, he is catching up and reacting,” Fahmi said.
“He talks about not opening certain sectors that are high-risk, but failed to define what high-risk is,” Fahmi, who is also PKR communications chief, told The Vibes.
Yesterday, Muhyiddin had announced the National Recovery Plan, comprising four phases and involving transitions in the movement control orders (MCO) depending on certain thresholds based on the number of infections per day, as well as the number of available intensive care unit (ICU) beds.
He also gave an assurance that Parliament will reconvene in September or October this year under Phase 3 of the plan, as long as it follows strict standard operating procedures (SOPs).
He said that, once the country has achieved herd immunity, the country’s parliamentary democracy system can begin functioning again.
Fahmi pointed to recent Covid-19 data indicating that clusters involving workplaces and factories remain the major contributors of infections, but are still allowed to operate.
He called Muhyiddin’s assurance that his recovery policy is based on science and data nothing but lip service.
“Even when he announced the threshold (required to move to subsequent phases), he gave seemingly arbitrary numbers.
“He does not contextualise that, if you have a series of days where the sample numbers are low, you will see low cases,” Fahmi added.
Lack of detail
Meanwhile, Wangsa Maju MP Datin Tan Yee Kew opined that Muhyiddin’s recovery plan is too focused on thresholds as opposed to the time frame.
“We need a time frame to achieve the target, not set targets and hope we can achieve them within the time frame.
“So, what happens if the targets cannot be achieved? Do we go back to the previous phase?” the PKR lawmaker said.
She also questioned Muhyiddin’s promise that Parliament would resume in September or October, as it was supposed to reconvene in August after the end of the emergency.
DAP’s Klang MP Charles Santiago shared similar sentiments about the prime minister appearing to merely be responding to political pressure.
“All this talk about the royalty putting pressure, where they may want him to leave, is working on his mind.
“This recovery plan is just a lame response to the questions people are asking,” he said.
Santiago said that, based on the announcement, the prime minister has the flexibility to change the dates as he wishes.
“It is true he is following a plan, but it allows him to keep the plan in a state of flux,” he said.
As to the prospective resumption of Parliament in September or October, he expressed doubt that this would happen, adding he would not be surprised if the Dewan Rakyat only convenes in November.
“If the numbers suddenly go up – which could happen as they are going to do mass testing – then they will extend the timeline,” Santiago said. – The Vibes, June 16, 2021
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