The Iskandar Puteri MP said the current strategy, put in place for the past 16 months, has failed, and the seven-day average daily number of cases per million population has surpassed that of the US.

He said that according to the Our World in Data website, Malaysia has a higher seven-day average of cases per million population than both the US and the UK, at 129.91 compared with 100.34 and 33.69, respectively.

Malaysia’s daily cases have also surpassed Indonesia’s, he said.

“We are also above both the world average of 86.86 and the Asian average of 88.78.”

Lim said the number of fatalities in the country was also “most shocking and unacceptable”, noting that 225 Covid-19 deaths had been recorded in the last six days. The death toll as of yesterday was 1,947.

“In two days’ time, Malaysia’s Covid-19 fatalities are likely to pass the 2,000-mark, raising the question on whether we are getting into the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic after 16 months,” he said.

He said the inefficient and disorganised quarantine and vaccination centres, as well as the decrease in ICU capacities at government hospitals, did not inspire confidence in the present public health system.

Lim also said the federal government must make it clear it would welcome state governments procuring Covid-19 vaccines to accelerate the national vaccination rollout, noting ambiguity surrounding the issue.

Recently, the Sarawak government procured a million doses of Sinovac vaccine.

Sarawak public health and housing assistant minister Dr Annuar Rapaee said the state will receive 500,000 doses of the vaccine within a week. An additional 500,000 doses will also be received after that.

Lim said consistency, public trust and confidence were crucial in the fight against Covid-19, and questioned why Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was keeping mum on several matters brought up by the opposition.

“I had said the opposition is prepared to form a parliamentary united front with the Perikatan Nasional government in the war against Covid-19 pandemic – convene Parliament, no ‘no-confidence’ motion and spearhead a ‘whole-of-society’ national mobilisation of Malaysians – to restore the country to normalcy,” he said.

“But there has been no response from the Muhyiddin government.”

CLICK HERE FOR OUR LIVE UPDATE OF THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA