By Peter Sibon
KUCHING, Feb 4: For once, politicians should stop the blame game and finger-pointing and instead be united to fight the common enemy which is the Covid-19 pandemic, said Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations president Datuk Richard Wee.
He asserted that the present crisis faced by the country and the rest of the world is not an economic crisis but health and medical crisis. And it is a very delicate balance that any government would have to navigate in combating this current crisis.
“So, in this challenging time, I would like to urge the politicians from both the political divide to stop playing the blame game and finger-pointing. And instead, let’s focusing on fighting our common enemy which is Covid-19 pandemic,” Wee told DayakDaily today.
Wee added that presently, it was crucial for a stable government to run the country during this unprecedented global Covid-19 crisis.
“In this challenging time, we must emulate the unity of the people shown by other countries like China, Singapore, New Zealand or even Germany.
“This is not the time to play politics. Let’s put politics aside during this challenging time and focus on fighting Covid-19 pandemic. Only when the pandemic is under controlled and contained, then we can talk about the general election,” he said.
For Sarawak, it is no different, Wee said, it was also crucial for politicians not to play the similar blame game but to focus on defeating this Covid-19 pandemic.
“Now, we even heard that the government’s plan on a clinical trial for the Covid-19 vaccine has been criticised by some individuals on social media.
“For a start, when the government was calling for volunteers to come forward for the clinical trial on Covid-19 vaccines, it was never forced on anyone. It was purely voluntary,” he said.
As such he pointed out that it was unfair to criticise the State government on the issue as Sarawak under Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has been credited to be one of the best in the country in managing the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wee added that even the dry run for the Covid-19 vaccines to Belaga has been politicised by some individuals who accused the government of using the natives in Belaga as guinea pigs.
“Fighting Covid-19 is just one of the battles that the State government is facing in protecting the interests of all Sarawakians. And after we have contained the Covid-19 pandemic, then we have to revive our economy. And after that, we have to continue the fight for the interest and the autonomy under Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA 63). So, there is no end for us to fight together as Sarawakians for the betterment of Sarawak,” he added.
Wee was commenting on Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s assurance that his government will continue to focus on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic amidst criticism by certain quarters who continue to question the rationale for the imposition of Martial Law.
Muhyiddin has given his assurance today that as the Head of Government, he would respect the system and legal process of the country which is based on the system of Constitutional Monarchy and Parliamentary Democracy.
“I would like to reiterate my commitment that I will advise His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament as soon as the outbreak of Covid-19 has subsided and the General Election is safe to be held.
“Meanwhile, I call on my friends from both the Government and the opposition, let us work together and mobilize efforts to fight the Covid-19 epidemic regardless of political differences,” Muhyiddin told the people though a live telecast aired by RTM today. -DayakDaily
