KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba’s 55-minute briefing of the government’s Covid-19 management drew the ire and irritation of opposition lawmakers, who are annoyed by his “draggy” speech.
Speaking in Parliament this morning, the health minister elaborated on the government’s effort in managing the pandemic, besides providing updates on the Covid-19 infections in the country and the vaccination rate, among others.
Most of what is being shared by Dr Adham is readily available in public, via press statements and previous announcements made by the relevant ministries.
About 50 minutes into his explanation today, Fahmi Fadzil (Lembah Pantai-PH) interjected to ask if the contents of his speech can be sent to the MPs via a PDF document instead, drawing laughter from the house.
“Can we ask for a PDF? It’s too long, too many facts. Boring lah. Even the minister keeps looking at his watch,” said Fahmi.
Other opposition MPs were heard urging the minister to send a PDF copy of his speech to all lawmakers.
Sivarasa Rasiah (Sg Buloh-PH) also questioned the decision by Dr Adham, and Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday, for not preparing hard copies of their speeches for MPs’ perusal.
He said this is against parliamentary convention, and makes it difficult for lawmakers to analyse and make arguments based on the contents of the speeches, especially due to the limited time in the special sitting.
Later during today’s proceedings, Khalid Abdul Samad (Shah Alam-PH) said he was extremely disappointed that the 55-minute speech by the health minister made no mention of the government’s analysis of what went wrong in its handling of the pandemic.
“We know the pandemic situation is dire. Where did we go wrong? From about 200 cases a day to 17,000, where did we go wrong?
“What was presented were merely the actions taken by the government. But what about the steps that should have been taken? I’m very disappointed, 55 minutes with no analysis, no solution.”
Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir (Johor Baru-PH) also took a dig at Dr Adham for failing to fully utilise the lengthy time allocated for him.
In particular, he said it is regrettable that the minister did not bring up the issues faced by contract doctors, who took part in a nationwide strike yesterday.
“Doctors outside are waiting when the minister will give them some recognition. Unfortunately, nothing was mentioned.
“Instead, they were advised against conducting the hartal (strike). It is obvious the young professionals are not being taken care of at all by the government.” – The Vibes, July 27, 2021
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