As Muslims, we accept death can happen whenever and wherever, says health DG

by HARIZAH KAMEL / pic by RAZAK GHAZALI

HEALTH DG Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (picture) refuted remarks by Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday by saying he was not “afraid to die”.

“There is no issue of us being afraid to die. As Muslims, we accept death can happen whenever and wherever. It is not about being on the ground or not, what is important is that we set our intentions to carry out our task which is to break the Covid-19 chain in the country,” Dr Noor Hisham said in his daily briefing yesterday.

Tiong had caused a ruckus in the Parliament by asking whether the DG “is afraid to die” for not personally being in Sabah to monitor the Covid-19 situation.

Dr Noor Hisham said the Health Ministry will continue handling the country’s Covid-19 situation using preemptive and proactive actions, adding that Malaysia has set a benchmark for other countries to follow.

“There is no benchmark in managing a pandemic, but we are creating the benchmark in terms of other countries learning from us in how we handle our third wave for example,” he said.

“The ministry has made specific plans for Sabah and I went there at the end of August before the election. I instructed my deputies to go there last week and two weeks ago to see the management of the pandemic and issues arising in Sabah.

Malaysia recorded 822 new positive Covid-19 cases yesterday, of which seven were import cases.

The increase in cases brought the country’s total active cases to 11,497.

A total of 769 patients recovered and were discharged, bringing the total recovered cases to 31,073.

The number of casualties is now 302 following two more deaths.

Dr Noor Hisham said 86 positive cases were being treated in intensive care units, of which 30 were intubated.

Sabah recorded the highest cases at 258, followed closely by Negri Sembilan (225) and Selangor (176).

Three new clusters were also identified in Sabah, namely the Karamunting cluster in Sandakan, Saga cluster in Kota Kinabalu and Haven cluster in Lahad Datu.

Separately, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the National Security Council will not change its decision to postpone the Malaysia Cup.

He also said football club Johor Darul Ta’zim is not allowed to fly to Doha, Qatar, to play their remaining Asian Champions League matches as the borders remain closed.

Meanwhile, a total of 536 individuals were arrested for breaching the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO). Of the figure, 527 individuals were compounded, eight were remanded and one individual was on police bail.

Failure to comply with physical distancing instructions was the highest offence with 153 cases, followed by failure to wear face masks (134) and failure to present personal identification records (107).

On Ops Benteng, around 31 illegal immigrants and five smugglers were arrested, while six vehicles were seized.

Around 526 individuals arrived at all international entrances of the country and currently, 9,515 individuals are undergoing mandatory quarantine at 67 hotels and 21 premises.

The Enhanced MCO (EMCO) in several areas, namely Penang Remand Prison and staff quarters, as well as PPR Mutiara Kasih and Taman Khazanah Indah in Lahad Datu, Sabah ended yesterday as scheduled.

However, the EMCO will be implemented at Medan 88, Salak Tinggi in Selangor for 14 days effective today until Nov 25.