Rise above partisanship so Malaysia can recover from Covid crisis, Kit Siang tells all parties

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang urged his fellow politicians today to rise above their party ideologies and work together so the country can move forward in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The veteran lawmaker said national unity should take precedence in times of crisis, adding that putting the country’s interests now is apt in the run-up to Merdeka Day on August 31 and Malaysia Day on September 16.

“This is the time for all political parties to demonstrate that whatever their political differences, they are prepared to rise above party politics with one overriding common cause, to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic so that Malaysia can embark on economic and national recovery.

“We may be in the Opposition, but when the country faces a national crisis, all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics must unite so that the country can tide over the crisis,” the Iskandar Puteri MP wrote in a statement today.

Lim’s statement follows yesterday’s meeting between Pakatan Harapan leaders and new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, which resulted in a rare consensus to work together on institutional reform and the fight to stop the spread of Covid-19.

He said Ismail Sabri’s government will need to speed up its efforts in the war against the virus and suggested new markers to prevent further cases and deaths.

The first two target reducing new daily cases and deaths before August 31 as the national cumulative caseload has been moving quickly towards hitting 1.7 million cases and 15,000 deaths.

“The third test will be whether we can reduce the new daily cases to avoid breaking the two million-mark on the 58th Malaysia Day on September 16, and the fourth test whether we can avoid breaking the 19,000-mark for cumulative total of Covid-19 deaths on the 58th Malaysia Day,” Lim said.

As of yesterday, Malaysia had a total of 1,616,224 confirmed Covid-19 infections with 14,818 deaths. Cases have been hovering within the 20,000 cases per day range over the past week, with fatalities hovering around and breaching the 200 per day mark over the same period.