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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians took to social media on Friday to criticize the country’s politicians for violating standard operating procedures for social distancing and refusing to isolate themselves, after the country posted its second-highest peak in daily coronavirus cases after from the Sabah elections last week.
Malaysia has reported a steady increase in cases after a surge in travelers to the state ahead of last Saturday’s elections. Yesterday, Malaysia recorded 260 new infections, the highest since its peak on June 4, 277.
The government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has come under fire for failing to impose controls such as mandatory screening for travelers from Sabah before elections, and for allowing people to interrupt a 14-day home quarantine order if they test negative for the virus. .
However, health officials have defended the decision not to announce the control measures earlier, saying authorities did not want to dissuade voters from returning home to cast their votes.
The hashtags #PoliticiansPuncaVirus (politicians cause viruses) and #KlusterMenteri (ministers group) are trending on Twitter today after ministers and political figures were reported to attend public events upon their return from the campaign in the state.
At least two politicians tested positive in the election campaign, while travel-related cases to Sabah have been reported in all 13 Malaysian states.
“Why didn’t you quarantine yourself for 14 days?” Twitter user @safiqshahid asked Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa, who posted photos of himself at a business congress after returning from Sabah this week.
In a statement, Annuar’s press secretary denied that the minister had violated quarantine rules, saying he had already completed self-isolation and tested negative days before the elections.
Some Twitter users also raised concerns about the risks posed by the national elections, which could be called this year amid uncertainty about the stability of the ruling alliance, which has a two-seat majority in Parliament.
Muhyiddin faces a leadership challenge from opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who last week said he had won the support of a majority of lawmakers to form a government.
Malaysia has reported a total of 11,484 Covid-19 cases so far, including 136 deaths.
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