Australia's cruise ship nightmare, Malaysia's tabligh gathering

In Australia, people have been criticising if not cursing the release of 2700 passengers from the Ruby Princess cruise ship in New South Wales (NSW) without adequate screening. Today, more than half of Australia's Covid-19 cases can be traced to many of those passengers who were affected by the virus, and who on disembarking, returned to their respective homes in a number of Australian States besides NSW.

By contrast in Malaysia, there was no cruise ship situation to blame, as most of the Covid-19 cases and 35 deaths (thus far) can be traced to the Tabligh gathering at the Sri Petaling Mosque.

The recent EMCO (Enhanced Movement Control Order) in Simpang Renggam (Johor) and Hulu Langat (Selangor), virtually curfews although the government kept insisting they aren't curfews, have been because of residents in those places affected by covid infection by the tabligh attendees. The respective EMCO were enforced because of the clusters of tabligh-infected cases.

more than 17,000 devotees attended the gathering 

The virus has been contagiously passed on even unto the 5th generation - here the word 'generation' is not in its usual meaning but related to the virus being passed on to a non-tabligh attendee.

In other words, 'A' attended the tabligh gathering at the Seri Petaling mosque, was infected, returned home and passed the virus onto 'B', who then infected 'C', so on so forth until the 5th generation.

That shows how FAST the contagion acts. Scary.

We can be thankful that our fantastic DG of the MOH, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, has taken realistic stock of what will happen, more so when more than 5,000 of the tabligh attendees have not been tested yet. He has prepared for the worst which I dare not even imagine, setting up emergency hospitals with an additional 20,000 beds as well as quarantine stations at strategic locations, co-opting the use of existing buildings such as indoor stadiums, ministries' training institutes, exposition park halls, etc.

If any of those 5000 attendees passed on the virus since returning home (that gathering was at the end of February), I dread to imagine how many people each of them has infected. That's precisely the concerns of Dr Noor Hisham and the basis for his frenetic preparations for the WORST.

As The Sun Daily informed us in its Over 5,000 tabligh attendees yet to get screened:

Over 5,000 attendees of the tabligh gathering at the Sri Petaling Mosque have yet to undergo Covid-19 screening, according to Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said to date, a total of 17,965 attendees were screened with some 12,842 samples taken.

“Of the total, 1,254 have been tested positive, 7,084 were confirmed negative while 4,504 are awaiting Covid-19 test results,” he told a press conference, here today.

Dr Noor Hisham said out of the 150 new confirmed cases today, 63 were linked to the Sri Petaling Mosque tabligh cluster.

Also as reported by NST, Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said the police did not rule out the possibility that there were some villagers who attended the event (tabligh gathering) and did not self-quarantine once they returned.

“There might be some of them who attended a kenduri within their area but did not realise that they have been infected with the virus.”

And we have cardio-loyar-buruk and his ilk STILL indulging in their selfish pursuits, ignoring how they each undermined Dr Noor Hashim's tireless efforts.

Eff their selfish stroll in the park, fishing and loitering around.

Hearts of gold clad in blue

Sun Daily:


PDRM officers buy groceries for crying mother who lost income after MCO

They say in times of emergencies, you see the character of a person.

For two police officers in Johor Baru, this pandemic has revealed their hearts of gold after they helped out a poor family with groceries.

Corporal Mohd Hisham Mustafa and Constable Mudrikah Nazirul Nordin found the family of three in a public park, clearly violating the Movement Control Order (MCO). When they advised them to comply with the MCO and go home, the wife began crying claiming they had no money and supplies at home.

The duo’s next action tugs at the heartstrings.

The duo took the family to a grocery store and bought them milk for their 16-month-old baby. The family who live in Johor Baru are renting a room, but they are currently both out of work because of the MCO.

I salute such magnificent cops who have hearts of gold. Sterling examples to Malaysians, they showed the BEST in compassion and loving humanity.

I have read of many instances of such kindness by cops of many countries, but we can take special pride in ours. May their wonderful examples be models for us.

Meanwhile over in India, as the Sun Daily informs us, a video that is going viral in India, shows policemen shouting at temple devotees to exit the building. As the priest along with the worshippers come out of the premises, a policeman with a baton starts hitting them at their buttocks, even the priest wasn’t spared.

US military took Trumpvirus to Wuhan

Star Online:

Searching for Covid-19’s origin

Viral diplomatic wars: Trump’s labelling of Covid-19 as a ‘Chinese virus’ earlier this month has infuriated Beijing and ethnic Chinese worldwide 

Trump’s ‘China virus’ label spurs researchers to intensify investigations and some probes are pointing in the direction of the US.

President Donald Trump’s labelling of Covid-19 as a “Chinese virus” earlier this month, which infuriated Beijing and ethnic Chinese worldwide, has prompted researchers to intensify investigations into the origin of the novel coronavirus.

The label, seen as racist and xenophobic, has backfired and does not seem to help the US leader score political points amid the accelerating spread of Covid-19 in the US and the election fever.

In the US, Trump has infuriated his own supporters among the rich Chinese-Americans who have made vast contributions to his campaign funds in his bid to seek a second presidential term.

Under pressure, Trump has stopped using the label since last week. The reaction from Beijing towards the questionable label was strong and immediate. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said “China is strongly indignant at and firmly opposes US stigmatisation” and urged the US “to stop making groundless accusations against China”, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The reaction from ethnic Chinese in Malaysia has been that of disgust and disbelief. But it is the innocent Chinese in America who have had to bear the brunt – mentally and physically.

After Trump’s labelling that cast aspersions the virus had originated from China, cases of racist attacks against Chinese in the US emerged, according to media reports.

In one case, a 12-year-old Asian American boy in Los Angeles was badly beaten by his classmates. In another, a Chinese woman was cursed by a total stranger scolding her for “bringing in the virus”.

Trump’s “China virus” label has caused intense anxiety to the Chinese in the US and this could be seen in posts on social media. In one video, Chinese-Americans are advised to start arming themselves against possible racist attacks.

Arcadia Firearm & Safety in San Gabriel Valley, an area with a high concentration of Chinese immigrants, reportedly saw gun sales rising 10 times in recent weeks.

While the lay people of Chinese ethnicity seem helpless, Beijing appears to have geared up its propaganda machinery to prove that the Covid-19 virus did not originate from China.

Global Times believes this whole anti-China exercise is a public opinion war waged by Trump to “distract attention of the American people away from his failings to deal with the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus in the US”. And China has been made a convenient scapegoat. The official mouthpiece of the Chinese government, in an editorial early last week, reminded the Trump administration to “respect science” before making any conclusion on the origin of the Covid-19 virus.

Although Wuhan was the first place in the world to suffer the Covid-19 epidemic in January, the World Health Organization (WHO) has maintained that the origin of the virus has yet to be identified.

Interestingly, China’s stance has been given unexpected support from scientists in the Trump administration.

 The disease expert leading the Trump administration’s response to coronavirus has distanced himself from the “China virus” label.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in an interview with the prestigious Science magazine last Sunday, said he disagreed with the substance of Trump’s message as it could lead to “some misunderstanding about what the facts are about a given subject”.

The expert declared he has not named Covid-19 as “China virus” or “Chinese virus”, and “will never” call it “China virus”.

Perhaps, the most powerful contradiction to Trump’s “China virus” label has come from Dr Robert Redfield – the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US. When questioned at a House hearing, Redfield agreed that it was “absolutely wrong” for Trump to label the 2019 novel coronavirus as the “China virus”.

In addition, he reportedly admitted to US Congress that some Americans who seemingly died from influenza last year were subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. A total of 200,000 were reported to have died from this influenza outbreak that started in September 2019.

Then there were reports that alleged that five sick US army officers might have been responsible for the spread of the virus to China during the 2019 Military World Games held in Wuhan during Oct 18-27 last year.

The five were hospitalised in Wuhan for an “unknown sickness”, and very soon after they were ferried back to the US by a plane specially sent from Washington.

Based on these reports and Redfield’s admission to US Congress, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian suggested on March 12 that the US army might have brought the Covid-19 disease to Wuhan.

“When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!” Zhao had tweeted aggressively.

Chinese netizens, now naming Covid-19 as the “Trump virus” in retaliation to the “China virus” label, are challenging Washington to allow WHO officers to conduct independent investigations, if there is nothing to hide.

More recently, the findings of an American investigative journalist and his friends have become juicy materials against the US.

According to Global Times, George Webb from Washington DC, in his videos, claimed that Maatje Benassi, an armed diplomatic driver and cyclist who was in Wuhan for the 2019 Military World Games, could be patient zero of Covid-19 in Wuhan.

Patient Zero - Maatje Benassi - Maatje Benassi infected many of her American teammates before arriving in Wuhan. Five of them were sick enough to be hospitalized in Wuhan during the games and evacuated back to the US where they later died 

She and other US army officers had allegedly visited Wuhan’s famous wildlife market and other sites. But the most intriguing part of Webb’s findings is that within the US army delegation, there was another female officer who had worked in Fort Detrick.

According to Wikipedia, Fort Detrick, located in Maryland, was the centre of the US biological weapons programme from 1943 to 1969. From 1969, Fort Detrick has continued defensive research into deadly pathogens, including the Ebola virus and the highly toxic poison ricin. It has been involved in testing possible vaccines for the deadly virus Ebola.

According to a news report on Aug 6 last year by Britain’s online news portal The Independent, the lab research at Fort Detrick was ordered by the CDC to shut down in July 2019 due to “failures in handling the dangerous pathogens inside” and “fears of escape”.

Fort Detrick was ordered by the CDC to shut down its biolab in July 2019 due to “failures in handling the dangerous pathogens inside” and “fears of escape” 

As the outbreak of influenza in the US in September came soon after the closure of Fort Detrick, this coincidence in time has prompted Chinese netizens to urge the US to release the health and infection information of the US military delegation that had come to Wuhan in October.

Still, despite all these findings that seem to point towards the US as the most probable birth place of Covid-19, more credible and confirmatory conclusions can only be drawn from the findings of scientists from WHO and other reliable bodies.

*********

kaytee notes:

Sorry HY, contrary to your Mainland baiting, it seems there are grounds, in fact very strong ones when you consider it has been Dr Robert Redfield – the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US - who revealed some Americans who went to Wuhan for military games (sports) last years and seemingly died from influenza were subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.

Lim KHAT Siang - not a snake, but a scorpion?

Malaysia-Today:

Matthias Chang: I Tried To Warn Mahathir About Kit Siang And Guan Eng

Lawyer and author of the Future Fast Forward Trilogy, Matthias Chang, took a swipe at Lim Kit Siang today, calling on the people to tell the DAP supremo uno to “shut up.”

In a fiery, no holds barred signature write-up, the one-time political secretary to fourth Malaysian premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said people should bombard the senior Lim and tell him to “stay at home and to indulge in self-serving political masturbation.”

“Tun M was blinded by Kit Siang’s false subservience and Kow Tows. Tun M fell for it. I had told Tun M, Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng are arrogant scumbags.

“Not a snake, but the scorpion in Tun M’s pocket. Tun did not listen.

“Karma is in play now.”

Wakakaka. I was quite tempted to declare Matthias message to Lim KHAT Siang, to wit, “stay at home and to indulge in self-serving political masturbation” as the BEST political statement thus far for 2020, but I resisted though Old Nick was whispering incessantly in my ear.

Mind, my agreement with Matthias' take on the Lims does NOT meant I support Mahathir. Jeeeeez, that will be the day, wakakaka.

admittedly the MOST rotten of this lot of political Machiavelli's is still Mahathir
he remains Supreme in devious dirty deceptions

OK, Lim KHAT Siang may be the scorpion, but Mamak is still the Kerala Kruel King Cobra. As for Chye-Chye, he is just arrogantly dumb.

 

Rice - the minister & the ministry

MM Online:

Agriculture minister rubbishes report claiming Malaysia may be running low on rice

Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee has denied a report claiming that Malaysia only has enough rice to last two-and-a-half months

Picture by Shafwan Zaidon 

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee has denied a report claiming that Malaysia only has enough rice to last two-and-a-half months.

In a statement issued today, the agriculture and food industry minister said that the country’s current rice stocks were “stable, controlled and consistent”.

“The ministry denies the media report that claimed the country’s rice stocks can only last two-and-a-half months,” said Kiandee.

“The current stock of local rice at factories, wholesalers and retailers is as high as 523,000 metric tonnes.

“This does not take into account existing stocks of locally produced rice and imported rice in the country.

Kiandee then went on to say that rice imports have not been interrupted by the movement control order (MCO) before stressing that this category only makes up 30 per cent of Malaysia’s entire needs.

“At the moment, rice imports have not been affected and continue as usual. Apart from Vietnam, rice is imported from other producer countries like Thailand, Pakistan, Myanmar, India and Cambodia.

“Bernas has also been directed by the government to guarantee and increase rice imports to the country,” he added in reference to Syarikat Padiberas Nasional Bhd, which is involved in the procurement and processing of paddy, and the importation, warehousing, distribution and marketing of rice in Malaysia, among other matters.

Bernas is supposed to ensure that Malaysia’s dependence on rice imports is reduced to 35% or less. This is to ensure that, in the event of a war or a major catastrophe in any of the rice exporting countries like Thailand, Vietnam, China, etc., Malaysia will not be starved of rice — reminiscent of WWII when Malayans then had to eat Tapioca.

Malaysia is the only rice producing country in South-East Asia that is highly dependent on rice imports. Malaysia is at a great security risk and all our neighbours have to do is to stop selling us rice and we will be brought to our knees. And Bernas’ role is to reduce this dependence.

But this is not happening. Instead, ................................

The government has acknowledged the importance of rice in the food security policy of the country. This is especially so after the 1997-98 currency crisis and the ever-increasing import bills for rice and other food products. Under the NAP3, the Self-Sufficiency Level (SSL) for rice is set at 65% until 2010.

Malaysia, therefore, is still very far from self-sufficiency and needs to import the balance 35% of its needs while other countries surrounding Malaysia not only DO NOT import their rice, but exports it — to Malaysia. Even China, which needs to feed 20% of the world’s population, can export rice.Why does Malaysia still depend on a high level of rice imports to feed the nation? And why does the government allow this? The answer is simple! ...

For more, read Malaysia-Today's article here

Kiandee ended by reassuring Malaysians not to worry about the availability of rice in the country, saying that the ministry will ensure that the supply is enough to meet the country’s monthly needs of 200,000 metric tonnes.

Yesterday, Reuters quoted the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry as saying Malaysia only has enough rice to last two-and-a-half months, after Vietnam suspended exports to feed its own people amid the Covid-19 epidemic.

Vietnam, the third largest rice exporter, on Wednesday said it would not sign any new rice export contracts until March 28 to ensure sufficient domestic supplies, raising concerns about global food security.

In Malaysia, various ministers have sought to reassure Malaysians that food suppliers have enough essential goods to last the duration of the MCO, in a bid to bring an end to the panic buying that has been seen across the country since its implementation.

Yesterday the Agricultural & Food Industry Ministry said (as reported by Reuters, a credible international news agency) that Malaysia has only 2.5 months of rice consumption. Malaysia requires about 200,000 metric tons of rice per month.

The minister (not ministry) in saying "The current stock of local rice at factories, wholesalers and retailers is as high as 523,000 metric tonnes" supports the ministry's (not minister's) assertion that Malaysia has rice stock that will last only 2.5 months.

Of course the minister (not the ministry) claimed that the mentioned 523,000 metric tonnes have been made up of stocks at factories, wholesalers and retailers, and do not take into account existing stocks of locally produced rice and imported rice in the country. In other words the national stockpile has much more - but how much more, the minister (not the ministry) did NOT tell.

Who do you want to believe? The minister or the ministry, wakakaka.

Secondly, the minister (not the ministry) has dismissed the ominous 'threat' of Vietnam embargoing the export of her rice until she has done a comprehensive stock-taking of her own needs.

By the by, Vietnam has a population of almost 98 million for this year, which is about 3 times Malaysia's own population of almost 33 million.

The minister (not the ministry) claims that there are rice-importing alternatives to Vietnam such as Thailand, Pakistan, Myanmar, India and Cambodia.

Although Thailand typically produces 3 to 5 percent of the world’s rice, it accounts for nearly a quarter of global trade. The average annual yields of Thai paddy rice run to 30-32 million tons, or 20-21 million tons of milled rice.

This is consumed by domestic and export markets in roughly equal quantities Thai rice is recognized globally for its high quality and as such it is in demand in a large number of countries - Miller Magazine

But has he (the minister, not the ministry) ascertained whether those countries may do exactly what Vietnam has done, embargo their respective rice exports until they can be sure their own people have enough for the predicted duration of this dire period?

Thailand has a population of 70 million, twice Malaysia's.

Pakistan has a population of 221 million, seven times Malaysia's.

Myanmar has a population of 54.5 million, 1.6 times Malaysia's.

Khmer Republic (Cambodia) has a population of almost 17 million, half Malaysia's.

I won't bother to mention India's and Indonesia's respective population as you no doubt know already.

India & her population 

I appreciate the minister (not the ministry) doesn't want to panic the rakyat, but I prefer we know the truth well ahead in time so we can prepare ourselves well when the crunch comes.

The RM250 billion stimulus package

Some (economists) called the RM250 billion stimulus package brilliant, some (business sector) called it disappointing. The former (economists) said there'll be better cash flow in the market, whilst business (eg. Malaysian Employers Federation - MEF - and SME) said millions will lose their jobs.

MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan 

Most economists are of the view that the government is right in supporting low-income households to survive in this very trying times, especially those facing financial constraints, retrenchments or have to be on unpaid leave.

Meanwhile Pakatan Harapan (minus those who left, wakakaka) said that only 10% of the stimulus package, ie. only RM25 billion out of the RM250 billion “Prihatin” package, would be injected directly into the economy, while the rest comes in the form of loan moratoriums, tax waiver, and guarantees.

Anwar has supported initiatives in the Prihatin package that helps the people, especially those in the B40 income group, but wants it debated in parliament

But Wahid Omar, a banker but who had also served as a then Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Economic Planning under the previous BN government, pointed out that the Harapan critics also employed similar methods when they were the government.

He said that Mahathir in his February stimulus of RM20 billion (formulated by Lim GE as boasted by my visitor TS, wakakaka), injected as direct cash only RM3.5 billion, far far less than what the Muhyiddin government proposes to do.

Incidentally, regarding Harapan's cries of "Where the eff is the money coming from", Mahathir had in February said (as reported by The Edge Markets):

“Malaysia has a lot of savings. Malaysia has almost RM2 trillion of savings, we will make use of some of these savings. Some with Tabung Haji, Bank Negara, KWAP, KWSP... All of them hold big reserves. And in the case of KWSP, it is almost RM1 trillion.”

Mucho peso, si amigo? Wakakaka.

Mahathir is pro business and less sympathetic with labour

the Emperor loves his nobles and knights rather than the serfs, wakakaka

His package would favour the business sector and eff the workers

It's a short term (tactical) stimulus package designed as a 'survival package' for the rakyat during the lockdown and also for the Perikatan Nasional in GE15, wakakaka. The long term plan (strategy) comes later and eff that in the meantime, wakakaka again.

But yes, not everybody is happy as each of us, private individual or businessman, has our own respective interests and gains (or loss). I am not the best person to talk about economics so I am quite 'neutral' on it as I was on Mahathir's.

But as a matey said: "The point is, those who are opposed to the government - such as the Pakatan Harapan people today - will always find fault and criticise the government and its policies, and whether only 100 Malaysians die or 100,000 Malaysians die in the current pandemic. Nothing is perfect. Everything is wrong. To these people, half a glass of water is always half empty, never half full. It is the nature of the beast."

I added t'was 'likewise' when Pakatan Harapan was the government and BN and PAS (not yet Perikatan Nasional) were in the opposition, wakakaka.

But that's an opposition's job, the nature of the beast, to "criticise, object, oppose, challenge, dispute, disparage, 'podah'-ise" each and every government's act, policy, programme, etc.

As my matey said of the opposition always criticising the ruling government's policies and actions: "Nothing is perfect. Everything is wrong. To these people, half a glass of water is always half empty, never half full".

Indeed, having an adversarial opposition is the very essence of political democracy in the Westminster system - the so-called much required 'check & balance'. It reflects the "finest traditions" (wakakaka) of the British-initiated political system, where it would be the rare day, when snowflakes would fall gently in Hell and tulips bloom gloriously there, if the opposition were to agree with, let alone praise, the ruling government in its policies. 

Wakakaka.

Covid-19 - the WORST is soon to come

Malaysiakini:

Ministry ‘overprepares’ for Covid-19 third wave with extra beds, enhanced MCO

CORONAVIRUS | In light of a possible tsunami of new Covid-19 cases, the Health Ministry has taken proactive measures to increase the number of hospital beds and ramp up its containment efforts.

At a press conference this evening, ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah explained that they were preparing for the eventuality where cases surged to 1,000 per day.

“Let us prepare for the worse and hope for the best. It is better for us to overprepare than to underprepare. If we underprepare, it means we are unprepared,” he said.

He shared that the present capacity at hospitals was 5,292 beds.

The ministry is in the midst of creating 600 more beds (above) at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (Maeps).

“If we need (more), the beds are ready,” he said, adding that the facility will be ready by tomorrow.

Global investment bank JP Morgan previously projected that Covid-19 infections in Malaysia would peak at 6,300 cases in mid-April.

The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (Mier), meanwhile, projected a peak of 8,900 cases.

Enhanced MCO is to protect safe zones

The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is set to begin on April 23 and a month after that will be Hari Raya Aidilfitri, a festive period when millions usually travel back to their hometowns.

Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah 

Hisham admitted it was too early to predict the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak by then but said it will use the enhanced MCO strategy to prevent an exponential rise in cases leading up to the festive period.

The ministry has identified “hotspots” or red zones - a district or area that has recorded more than 41 cases over the past 24 hours.

Should there be a further spike in cases in those zones, an enhanced MCO would be imposed.

Hisham said this strategy would not only isolate hotspots but hopefully also protect other areas from contagion.

“In high hotspot areas, we will enhance the MCO."

“But (for) the green areas, we need to protect them,” he explained, adding that China had employed the same strategy by locking down three cities to protect its capital Beijing.

Thus far the areas under enhanced MCO are two villages in Kluang, Johor.

“Everyone in the ministry is working around the clock to make sure we can deliver and bring down the cases. And perhaps prove that this (6,300-case) prediction is not right,” Hisham said.

The subtext of this frightening news is that the DG of the Health Ministry and his staff are expecting some horrendous eventuality regarding cases of Covid infections.

• In light of a possible tsunami of new Covid-19 cases
  
• Let us prepare for the worse
  
• 600 more beds (in addition to the present capacity of 5,292 beds)
  
• JP Morgan projected 6,300 cases in mid-April
  
• Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (Mier), projected 8,900 cases
  
• Enhanced MCO is to protect safe zones
  
• Hari Raya Aidilfitri

and

The ministry has identified “hotspots” or red zones - a district or area that has recorded more than 41 cases over the past 24 hours.

Should there be a further spike in cases in those zones, an enhanced MCO would be imposed.

If you read the above in conjunction with a previous posting on an article by finance-twitter which I re-titled as Rubbery statistics regarding covid-screening of tabligh members you'll now feel as uneasy as I have been.

The finance-twitter article narrated (extracts):

Based on the information from the Health Ministry, only 12,000 people were the tabligh attendees. The remaining 5,084 untested samples could consist of mostly 5 generations of family members, friends or neighbours who might be infected.

What this means is until the Health Director-General discloses the numbers of tabligh participants making up the group of 5,084 people, it’s safe to presume there’re still hundreds – or even thousands – of the religious members who have not come forward to be tested for Coronavirus – depending on the validity of Defense Minister Ismail Sabri or IGP Hamid Bador’s version of the stories.

pre Hari Raya shopping 

But why do we even care how many tabligh members who are left to be tested?

That’s because the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, expected to begin on April 23, would become a fertile month for the Coronavirus to spread again if all the 16,000 Tabligh members and the 5 generations of infections are not identified, tested and quarantined.

Complicating matters, there were cases where the carriers who showed mild or even zero symptoms of Covid-19. Even if 95% of the Tabligh members have surrendered to be tested, the remaining 800 of the ignorant members who thought they didn’t carry the virus could do a massive damage if they belong to this group of carriers who exhibit non-specific symptoms (fever, sore throat, cough, and diarrhea).

I read these news articles together and came to a frightening conclusion that Malaysia is due soon for a shocking eventuality which may even horrendously rivalled that of Italy, Spain and France.

Director General of the MOH, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah is certainly on the ball in his preparation for the worst - as he succinctly said “Let us prepare for the worse and hope for the best. It is better for us to overprepare than to underprepare. If we underprepare, it means we are unprepared”.

In the current pandemic, he is the ONLY consolation for Malaysians.

Yes, the worst is yet to come, and pretty soon too.

Above - Spain's emergency room-beds

compare with what Dr Hisham is preparing at Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (Maeps) - below