Can opposition MP improve poor quarantine centres in Sabah, Chan asks Najib
CORONAVIRUS | DAP's Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin said he was puzzled as to why former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak felt that an opposition lawmaker could improve the poor conditions of Covid-19 quarantine centres in Sabah.
"It is strange for Najib to expect an opposition MP, who has no power at all, to improve the conditions of the quarantine centres, when BN and Umno showed no effort in doing so," he said in a statement issued this evening.
Chan said Najib had acted as though Pakatan Harapan and DAP were still the ruling government.
"Maybe (because) he was not elected as a...
CORONAVIRUS | DAP's Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin said he was puzzled as to why former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak felt that an opposition lawmaker could improve the poor conditions of Covid-19 quarantine centres in Sabah.
"It is strange for Najib to expect an opposition MP, who has no power at all, to improve the conditions of the quarantine centres, when BN and Umno showed no effort in doing so," he said in a statement issued this evening.
Chan said Najib had acted as though Pakatan Harapan and DAP were still the ruling government.
"Maybe (because) he was not elected as a cabinet minister. He has forgotten he is the backbencher of the Perikatan Nasional government," he added.
Chan also denied that he had done nothing to improve the condition of the quarantine centres as claimed by Najib.
"I wish to express my sense of deep disappointment in Najib for vilifying me, claiming that I have done nothing in the past two months. (In fact), I have contacted the students under quarantine in Kota Kinabalu and Tawau.
"I waited patiently for two months to submit a parliamentary question at Dewan Rakyat on the poor conditions of the quarantine centres in Sabah. My right to speak was denied as the House only sat for one hour," he said.
Chan was referring to the May 18 Parliament sitting which only saw the opening address of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah.
Taking to Facebook earlier today, Najib chided Chan (photo) for blaming Putrajaya for the poor condition of the quarantine centres but not doing anything to improve them.
Najib also questioned the Sabah state government for offering the space to the federal government when they knew it was in bad condition.
Previously, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had claimed that images of dilapidated quarantine centres in Sabah were fake news.
This is despite both federal and state officials acknowledging the problem.
Elaborating further, Chan pointed out that Sabah was not allocated adequate funds for public health.
He said it was reported in February 2019 that Sabah had one doctor per 1,200 patients as opposed to one doctor per 600 patients in the peninsula.
"It was obvious that Sabah was not given adequate allocations and human resources by the federal government," Chan said.
He said the state government faced various constraints in taking care of the people with an annual budget of RM4.14 billion.
"Despite the constraints, Sabah still took initiatives to protect the people by modifying Likas Sports Centre as the additional wards (for Covid-19 patients) for Queen Elizabeth Hospital."
Chan then criticised Ismail for not acknowledging the poor conditions of the quarantine centres and asked Najib to help the state and its people if he was sincere.
"If he is still adamant in blaming the state government, then he should support a constitutional amendment to place health matters under the care of the states," he said.
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