Polemics, political division will only halt Malaysia's fight against COVID-19 - Muhyiddin

KUALA LUMPUR: The last thing that this country need is more polemics, political or social divisions to distract Malaysians from the urgent, existential task of fighting COVID-19 and rebuilding the economy, said the Chairman of the National Recovery Council (MPN) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Echoing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's call on the Malaysian Family to jointly revive the country, Muhyiddin said Malaysians must come together in the spirit of the Malaysian Family as their common future and shared destiny as a nation will be at stake if they do not work together to get Malaysia back on its feet.

"I strongly urge all Malaysians to be united. We must put aside all differences whether in politics, business, society or family to combine our collective might in this fight against COVID-19," he said in his closing address at the virtually-held National Recovery Summit today.

The recently appointed MPN chairman said the council will take note of the views and proposals raised at today's summit and will go through the feedback received today very thoroughly.

The former prime minister said that the war against COVID-19 can only be won by continuously prioritising a whole-of-nation approach, encompassing all sectors and groups in the country.

"It is an inclusive approach involving the whole of society working together to fight this war. Hence, the participation of the government, private sector, NGOs (non-government organisations), doctors, healthcare workers and volunteers is essential if it is to succeed," he said.

Muhyiddin said speed is of the essence as the recent COVID-19 Delta variant, which spreads faster and is far deadlier, is the culprit behind the spike in cases not just in Malaysia but everywhere else in the world, including Southeast Asia.

Therefore, he said Malaysians must never let their guard down and be vigilant against the constantly evolving threats the virus poses to the nation.

"We must constantly improve our COVID-19 pandemic management, especially in infusing new technologies and consistently upgrading our physical and digital response capacity in testing, tracing, and isolating," he said.

-- BERNAMA