Amid coronavirus surge, Malaysia asks what went wrong as Muhyiddin and other politicians take brunt of criticism

Three months after an initial strict lockdown ended, the country faces a sharp uptick in Covid-19 cases

Politicians who campaigned in Sabah elections, and the prime minister, are being blamed for the return of the virus to the peninsula

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A health worker in Petaling Jaya tests a woman for coronavirus amid the recent surge. Photo: DPA

Published: 6:39pm, 9 Oct 2020Updated: 7:42pm, 9 Oct 2020

In early July, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was flying high, considering the circumstances.

A months-long threat by the opposition to bring his government down through a no-confidence vote failed to materialise, and instead he secured an important win to install a new parliamentary speaker. Things were looking up for the 73-year-old prime minister on the coronavirus front, too.

After a gruelling March-to-May lockdown that ground Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy to a near standstill, daily new infections had come down to below 20.

Speaking to his staff on July 6, Muhyiddin attributed the change of fortunes to efforts by the government and grass roots workers who handled the situation “wisely, decisively and boldly” to ease the caseload.

Three months on, however, a new surge is well under way, giving rise to fears that a fresh lockdown – while economically debilitating – may once again be crucial to curbing new daily infection tallies, which are currently in triple digits.

On Tuesday, the total new cases tally count hit a record 691, with a bulk of the cases occurring in the Peninsular Malaysia state of Kedah, and in Sabah, one of two states in Borneo. Latest figures showed 354 infections reported on Friday and 2,951 new cases this week, or about 20 per cent of the country’s total count of 14,722 since the pandemic began.

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