Thread by @IMMikhailHafiz

The Malaysian government's failure to curtail the most recent CoVid-19 outbreak, further exacerbated by a sluggish vaccination program, has put our national health services under a tremendous amount of strain, reports @NileBowie .

asiatimes.com/2021/05/malays…

"Malaysia’s health crisis is taking a turn for the worst as new Covid-19 cases rise exponentially, a viral surge that as a percentage of the population is now higher than India’s daily infection rate."

"With a record number of critically ill patients occupying almost 1,200 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, the healthcare system is at a breaking point amid reports of doctors giving priority care to patients with higher chances of recovery."

"The Muslim-majority nation has seen a dramatic five-fold rise in cases since the beginning of the year and consecutive days of record-high daily caseloads in the thousands following the Eid al-Fitr holiday."

"Recent infections are being traced to gatherings held in violation of social distancing and movement restrictions during the end of the month-long Ramadan fasting period."

"As cases and deaths climb, so too does anger and frustration with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government."

"After being criticized for not imposing tougher curbs as infections spiraled, the premier on May 28 announced a “total lockdown” nationwide starting from June, during which only essential services and sectors will remain in operation."

"Muhyiddin’s government declared a state of emergency in January on public health grounds, which suspended Parliament and gave the premier enhanced powers to enact legislation."

"Emergency rule, consented to by Malaysia’s king, is set to expire on August 1. But the worsening pandemic could see the premier seek an extension."

"With active cases nearly tripling since the emergency was imposed, lawmakers from both political aisles have called for an urgent parliamentary sitting to deliberate Covid-19 prevention measures and related matters."

"However, it’s not clear if Muhyiddin, who is wary of losing his razor-thin governing majority, will permit Parliament to reconvene."

“We have a current situation that is quite serious. Cases are happening everywhere around the country and we have needed a strict lockdown to recalibrate and reorganize our actions( cont'd below)

toward Covid-19,” said Zainal Ariffin Omar, a former WHO consultant for non-communicable disease prevention.

“We also need strict enforcement on inter-state and inter-district movement, because people haven’t always followed the SOPs and have spread the disease,” he said.

"As Malaysia attempts to ramp up a sluggish immunization campaign, vaccine hesitancy also appears to be spreading, evidenced by lower take-up in some areas and missed immunization appointments, perhaps due to fears of side effects."

“There are some instances of vaccine hesitancy, especially for appointments during the fasting month. People were reluctant to get their vaccination during this period,” said Zainal. “Others have issues with a lack of transport to vaccination centers.”

"Malfunctions of the government’s MySejahtera mobile application, used for contact tracing and scheduling vaccination appointments, have also been widely reported, with glitches causing people to miss or forfeit their appointments."

"The government aims to immunize 80% of the population, or close to 27 million people, by the first quarter of 2022. But the national vaccination drive has proceeded more slowly than anticipated due to procurement delays."

“There has to be 250,000 vaccinations a day going forward in order to complete the vaccination in accordance with the government’s timeline,” said opposition lawmaker Wong Chen.

“There has been a vaccine shortage, and the government is banking on a high volume of vaccines arriving from mid-June and early July to salvage its position.”

"While the government cannot be fully blamed for delivery delays, inadequate levels of testing and contact tracing are to blame for the ballooning outbreak, Wong said."

“They have had so long to do this, they just never improved on it. When there’s a surge, they realize that they don’t have the infrastructure to trace and track. That’s really the bottom line.”

"The deteriorating health crisis and alarming rise in cases threaten to weaken Muhyiddin’s political standing, particularly if the situation sharply deteriorates and leads to a prolonged economic shutdown."

"But analysts believe the premier will still have an upper hand against opposition challengers as long as emergency rule is in place."

“If the situation remains dire into late June or beyond, then it is probable that the state of emergency, approved by the king in January after Muhyiddin’s second request, (cont'd below)

will also be extended beyond the current end-date of 1 August,” said Peter Mumford, a Southeast Asia analyst with the Eurasia Group consultancy.

"Despite rising criticism of the government’s pandemic handling, Mumford said Muhyiddin “appears safe for now” with the power of incumbency and apparent support of the king."

Political scientist Chandra Muzaffar said “both the severe health crisis and the concomitant economic crisis” would justify an extension of the emergency, but the country’s long political stalemate demands that Putrajaya go beyond merely extending emergency measures.

The circumstances “should prompt the prime minister and the king to initiate a genuine national unity government that will not only include the opposition, but also a couple of respected figures from the health sector who have expressed some independent views (cont'd below)

on how to handle the current pandemic,” opined Muzaffar.

“The management of the twin crises should be seen by the people as a sincere national effort that transcends political affiliations,” he told Asia Times.

"As things stand, the premier has given no clear indication that he sees a broader unity government as a way out of the crisis of a generation, meaning the wait to reconvene Parliament looks set to continue."