Malaysia’s Preventable Coronavirus Disaster
On March 1, Malaysia’s recent political crisis moved to a resolution after nearly two weeks of drama. That very same day, on the outskirts of the capital, 16,000 members of an Islamic missionary movement called Tablighi Jama’at were wrapping up their four-day gathering at the Sri Petaling mosque complex.
Krithika Varagur, Foreign Policy
On March 1, Malaysia’s recent political crisis moved to a resolution after nearly two weeks of drama. Muhyiddin Yassin, a member of Parliament, was sworn in as prime minister, ending a chaotic period during which his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, resigned; the ruling coalition disbanded; and numerous politicians switched sides and jockeyed for an audience with the king in the hopes of being appointed prime minister.
That very same day, on the outskirts of the capital, 16,000 members of an Islamic missionary movement called Tablighi Jama’at were wrapping up their four-day gathering at the Sri Petaling mosque complex.
The attendees would pack their bags and go home to communities across Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. And they would take the coronavirus with them. According to Malaysia’s Ministry of Health, at least 943 of the country’s 1,518 confirmed coronavirus cases, as of Monday, have been linked to this single event, now dubbed the “Tabligh cluster.” Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, and Cambodia have traced mounting numbers of confirmed cases back to the Sri Petaling gathering, where about 1,500 of the attendees were foreigners. Eight of 14 coronavirus deaths recorded in Malaysia to date are also directly linked to the Tablighi gathering.
The Tablighi gathering took place at a moment when the pandemic’s global death toll had reached more than 3,000 and numerous nations had already started shutting down public events. But as the days and weeks ticked by, Malaysia dragged its feet. As the number of cases grew, mosques and churches stayed open, sporting events were played, and business continued as usual.
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Over the next nine days, as cases quietly spread within Malaysia—and global outbreaks meant that the virus was hardly an obscure phenomenon—members of the country’s new ruling coalition spent more time figuring out their own political status than they did on the pandemic. The National Alliance Party brings together several key members of the previous administration, including Muhyiddin himself, and former opposition parties like the United Malays National Organization. It’s an untested group, under a brand-new leader, working to assert authority after the resignation of Malaysia’s most senior statesman. In the end, this political upheaval may have proved a deadly distraction—one that lost the country crucial time in which to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
“Basically, the first few days were spent putting a cabinet together, with as many positions as possible. The obsession was to cement the coalition,” said James Chin, a Malaysian political scientist at the University of Tasmania. Muhyiddin ended up assembling an unusually large cabinet of 70 members of Parliament.
