YOURSAY | 'You can't have two ministers disagreeing in public on important issues.'

Don't create undue alarm over Covid-19, Tiong tells health minister

Falcon: Undue alarm my foot! The numbers of Covid-19 cases have risen dramatically and fatalities as well!

To make matters worse, our great medical brains at the helm have asked the people to go get their jabs immediately.

Of which vaccines, may I ask? Sinovac?

By the way, is the latest not a new strain where Sinovac may not be effective?

Looks like the Health Ministry is forever cursed with incompetent and self-serving leadership.

As for Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing, the last thing we need is to go through another round of fatalities and a breakdown of the healthcare system because of the obsession with the tourist dollar.

Please stay in your corner and don't trespass on healthcare!

Ir: Tiong should focus on making sure foreign tourists and local tourists adhere to health standard operating procedures (SOP) considering the situation we are facing, to make sure things don't get any worse.

What strategies do you have in place? At least the health minister has taken steps to caution the public about the need to be more vigilant.

It is not causing panic. Just making people aware that we do have a situation that requires our attention.

Why wait till we have another pandemic on our hands?

Better to be safe than sorry. Stay safe everyone!

Enlighten: It is not an undue alarm when 28 people died within a week.

Spare some thought for the elderly and vulnerable. I am sure you all have family members in that category.

Covid-19 is still 10 times more deadly than flu. Please get the updated vaccine as soon as possible for the old and vulnerable at least.

OrangePanther1466: I thought Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad came on too strongly by holding a special press conference so soon after his reappointment as health minister.

Since I believe the public needed to see and feel that the government was on top of the situation, Dzulkefly could have met the public's demands by being less of an alarmist.

Given the disastrous experience of the public having to go through three years of a Covid-19-induced economic downturn, a well-thought-out communication strategy would have gone a long way in assuring the public without compromising the message you want to convey.

In other words, the Health Ministry needs to come up with a second edition of its Covid-19 SOP.

Nevertheless, I believe Dzulkefly was sincere in his efforts to stay focused and ahead of the curve before it gets out of hand.

The Health Ministry advisers too must address their mindset that this is no longer classified as a global pandemic.

The world has largely accepted it as an endemic disease, one which we have to live with.

So, whilst every effort must be made to avoid infection, people can and should go on with their everyday lives.

BlueFish0451: I agree with Tiong. Covid-19 is part and parcel of our daily lives. It is no longer a threat.

Even public transport systems, including airlines, no longer require passengers to test for Covid-19. It is important how the government and ministers handle the public perception.

For example, why did the health minister say, 'No movement control order (MCO) for now" instead of just saying, "No MCO"?

The "for now" left the whole country worried about the return of MCO, which was disastrous to the economy. Businesspeople will hold back their plans upon hearing this.

What if the home minister holds regular press conferences to call for people to be careful of murder and gives the daily number of deaths caused by murder?

What if the transport minister holds a regular press conference to announce the number of road fatalities?

Will foreigners not stay away? Tiong may sound vocal, but he is more passionate than any tourism minister this country ever had.

He could be another ‘tidak apa’ (could not care less) minister just giving out contracts to tourism agents around the world, but he chose to do his job well. He should be appreciated.

Man On The Street: Not a fan of Tiong, but if you look at a worldwide approach to the current endemic situation, he is right and has valid points.

All of Europe, which has far more deaths and hospitalisations in this winter season, knows that we just have to live with this virus.

They have stopped counting cases, stopped requiring people to report positivity, and stopped quarantine.

Their advice, as we live with the virus, is simple:

1. Stay at home if you are unwell.
2. Go back to work when you are better.
3. No need to test for Covid-19.
4. Extra precautions for the vulnerable (aged, immune compromised, high risk) to protect themselves.
5. Wear a mask to avoid infecting others.

Simple. That should be the message from the minister currently. This is what most of the sane nations in the world are doing.

GreenLlama0921: Hello Tiong, don’t tell me that within a few days after Dzulkefly’s press conference, tourism in Malaysia was badly affected.

You should do something to make tourism within Malaysia cheaper.

Travelling by air to Indonesia, Thailand, India or the Philippines is cheaper than flying to Sabah and Sarawak.

Have you seen the people crossing the Thai border during the start of the school holidays? One night's stay in Hatyai in a four-star hotel with breakfast will at the most cost you RM200.

So instead of ticking off your colleagues who are doing their job, you do your job of bringing down the hotel room rates and airfares in Malaysia.

PinkMarlin6024: I think it is about time the Madani government got its act together. You can't have two cabinet ministers disagreeing in public on important issues.

Can this not be discussed at cabinet meetings for an amicable resolution and to spare the rakyat from unnecessary anguish and anxiety?

Milshah: Every minister has their work to do. Just do your work.

No need to comment on what another minister is doing.

With over 20,000 Covid-19 victims so far, I think the Health Minister made the right call to have the press conference to address the public concerns about the return of the pandemic and possibly another lockdown.

JazliSalleh: Tiong should not interfere with the duties of the Health Ministry.

Not everything is about money at the expense of our health.

If our health is compromised by the threats issued by Tiong to conceal the facts regarding Covid-19, we will sue Tiong kaw kaw.

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