Health minister blames tabligh cluster on previous govt, gets told off by ex-minister
All 22 cases from the first set of Covid-19 infections were discharged on 26th February. The tabligh gathering was held on 27th February when Malaysia was without a government from 24 February to 29 February. Banning entry from China during PH’s tenure would not have made any difference.
(The Edge) – Health Minister Datuk Seri Adham Baba said the previous government had failed to contain the tabligh cluster, without which Malaysia would only have small clusters of Covid-19 infections, Malaysiakini reported yesterday.
He said this despite the fact that the “Sheraton Move” political crisis had left the country without leadership except for interim prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad between Feb 24 and Feb 29.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as the eighth prime minister under his new Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition on March 1 and the PN cabinet, including the health minister, was only sworn in on March 10.
“On (March) 10, we had a new cluster emerge which the previous government failed to contain, which is the Tabligh cluster.
It (Sri Petaling tabligh gathering) happened from Feb 27 to March 3. It is very big. To date, we are still unable to (fully) stop its spread.
“There are still cases from the tabligh cluster that have infected up to the fifth generation.
“If the tabligh cluster was prevented, there would be no second wave. We may only have small clusters,” he said in a conference call with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi which was uploaded on Facebook, according to the Malaysiakini report.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, former health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad (above) and his former deputy Dr Lee Boon Chye said now was not the time to point fingers over the Sri Petaling cluster of infections.
Dzulkefly said Adham should instead be providing stewardship for the Health Ministry.
“Faced with a grave epidemic, the nation would like to see the minister providing stewardship and strategic leadership that can complement the role taken on by Health director-general (Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah),” he said.
Among the ways the minister could help, Dzulkefly said, was by harnessing the expertise of public health experts such as epidemiologists and infectious diseases specialists so that the government could deliver even better results in its fight against Covid-19.
He added that Adham should also be focused on helping to overcome the backlog of Covid-19 tests and exploring the use of artificial intelligence to help with mass testing and monitoring community infections as well as coordinating efforts to ensure adequate supply of personal protective equipment for frontliners.
Additionally, he said the health minister should also ensure that everyone adheres to the movement control order while also thinking up strategies to help ease the nation out of the partial shutdown.
Dzulkefly said if Adham insists on finding fault over the Sri Petaling cluster, he should be aware that approval for gatherings fall under the Home Ministry’s purview, not the Health Ministry’s. (Muhyiddin was the Home Minister at the time.)
Former deputy health minister Lee questioned if Adham’s comment served as veiled criticism against the ministry’s long-serving director-general Noor Hisham who was overseeing the Covid-19 response while there was no government.
