Samer Allawi - Kuala Lumpur
The Malaysian authorities have announced the suspension of all immigration transactions, including the issuance of entry visas from the Chinese regions of Wuhan and Hubei, the two regions most affected by Corona disease, and a statement issued by the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office said that the decision to suspend visa procedures aims to control the spread of the disease.
The Malaysian decision comes after activists launched a campaign demanding the government to prevent Chinese entry to the country, in which some 250,000 Malaysians were registered until Sunday evening, and Mohamed Zain Yusran, who launched the campaign on his Facebook page, called for not to wait until he saw deaths among the Malaysians to take preventive measures.
Malaysia has mobilized all its health and security capabilities to cope with the Corona disease, and the Malaysian Minister of Health, Zafel Ahmed Matar Al-Kuala Lumpur, visited the internationals on Monday morning to confirm the safety measures followed in them.
The Minister of Health described what the social media reports about the disease as false news and reached a critical situation, which is the panic that afflicts many Malaysian citizens, as it has benefited from the protection masks from many pharmacies.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, the number of people suspected of contracting the disease in Malaysia on Sunday evening exceeded 24 cases, and one person was confirmed infected. Ministry of Health officials said that among the suspects, one Jordanian, the rest were Chinese and Malaysian, all of whom were quarantined.
Political controversy
The Malaysian government has hesitated to take a decision to prevent the entry of the Chinese, given the large numbers of tourists heading to Malaysia in the Chinese New Year holidays that started their celebrations on January 25, and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said that what is required is to tighten control over those coming to Country and not ban entry.
The issue of preventing the Chinese from entering Malaysia due to Corona has become a political controversy. The Crown Prince in the state of Johor, adjacent to Singapore, Ismail Ibrahim, recalled his warnings he had issued before the last elections. The ruling Alliance of Hope is now in power.
A Malaysian newspaper commented on Ismail Ibrahim's comments, "The crown prince returns to talk about politics," in a sign that the executive authorities are not among the powers of the ruling families and sultans.
While former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razzaq commented on the decision not to prevent the Chinese from entering the country on his Facebook page, saying, "Does the seventh prime minister know what the fourth prime minister did in 2003 to counter the spread of SARS," which means Mahathir Muhammad who said that Malaysia has not taken A decision to prevent tourists before, and according to Naguib Abdel-Razzaq, the National Front government that was headed by Mahathir in 2003 made a decision to prevent entry to the Chinese.