Abdul Karim addresses reporters during the press conference. – Photo by Rosytein Emmor
KUCHING (Aug 24): The fight against the Covid-19 pandemic should not be viewed from a political perspective, said Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture pointed out that Covid-19 is the common enemy and the coronavirus does not discriminate between political alliances.
“Whoever that forms the government and the policymakers must look at the campaign against Covid-19 from a broader perspective so that the people are taken care of.
“It should not be from the perspective of whether a state is administered by Opposition parties. So, the fight against Covid-19 should not be looked at from a political perspective,” he told a press conference today after a briefing on Sarawak’s Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) programme.
He called on the Opposition to act responsibility and not solely blame the government whenever there is a rise in new Covid-19 cases.
“I sit on the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and I can tell you that we have done our very best to overcome the pandemic. It’s just that sometimes our best is not good enough,” he said.
He pointed out that the government has repeatedly stressed that the public should avoid attending funerals, but some still refused to adhere to the advice, with similar cases happening in Peninsular Malaysia.
“When infections break out resulting in a Covid-19 cluster after the funeral, the Opposition would blame the government. I think it is just not fair,” he lamented.
Abdul Karim said the Opposition could rightly point out any issues with the Covid-19 vaccination exercise.
“We can advise the government but please don’t politicise. This is a health matter and we should not solely blame the government whenever there is a rise in cases,” he said.
He added Sarawak had already achieved herd immunity against Covid-19, while many other states in the peninsula were still trying to do so.