By Karen Bong
BINTULU, Aug 27: A new Cabinet, even one without major changes to its line-up, means brand new opportunities to get down to brass tacks especially to resolve the Covid-19 health crisis, move the economy forward as well as to sustain lives and livelihoods.
Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing said that Prime Minister Dato Sri Ismail Sabri’s new Cabinet must work hard for the people, more so during these difficult times.
“The government must look into two issues seriously. First and foremost, they must control the outbreak of Covid-19 by seeking help and advice from Chinese specialists and experts.
“The experts can come together to discuss and conduct some researches on domestic Covid-19 cases (in order to come up with a better response) to fight the pandemic that has worsened in Malaysia,” he told a press conference here in responding to the new Cabinet line-up announced by Ismail Sabri today.
With China’s experience in controlling the Covid-19 outbreak in a country with a population of 1.4 billion people, he believes there must be lessons to be learnt there that could be adopted by Malaysia to, most importantly, reduce the number of deaths.
“All efforts should be focused on saving people’s lives because many people have lost their loved ones to the disease. Some even lost both parents and children. We must take pity on the victims who have suffered such devastation. So the government must do their utmost best to save the people,” he said.
Tiong, who will continue to serve as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, pointed out that the government including the Finance Ministry must also act quickly to find practical solutions to revive and move the country’s economy forward.
While the government can disburse financial assistance of RM500 and RM1,000 for the people, he however viewed that this is only a short term support that would not do much to sustain people’s livelihoods.
“Moreover, not all under B40 are poor as those employed under the civil service have fixed incomes, even though they are categorised as the lower income group.
“Assistance should be given to those who are in dire situations like those on the streets who even find it hard on a daily basis to put food on the table. We must have real solutions,” he said.
Tiong stressed that it is important for the government to listen and take into consideration ground views and needs from not only the ordinary people but also that of industry sectors like small and medium enterprises (SMEs), manufacturers and the construction industry when coming up with an economic recovery and restructuring framework.
“Get a macro-economic plan to move the country forward but it has to be something that is practical when applied and benefits the people.
“Like now, we have the National Recovery Plan (NRP) but laymen are not concerned about the transition of phases to exit from Covid-19. What is most important to them is: will the plan will enable them to sustain their jobs, income and livelihood and ensure the wellbeing of their children?
“People cannot accept all the complicated things introduced by the government,” he said.
Tiong thus urged all ministers to be hands-on and understand the needs and problems of the people.
“We try to do our best to control the outbreak in a short period. This health crisis issue must be resolved, otherwise people will be angry at the government,” he added. — DayakDaily
