The Guardian published an article on Wednesday titled "'Like Game of Thrones': how triple crisis on China's borders will shape its global identity." The article says that North Korea, Myanmar and Afghanistan are "three ongoing crises in China's neighborhood," and called the three countries "failing states."
The logic of this article is reversed. It is not that these three countries neighboring China are "failing states." Instead, China's neighbors are targeted by the US to infiltrate and create disorder. Washington intends to use them to levy pressure on China. The chaos or difficulties faced by these countries are due to the intervention or suppression from the US.
Russia is also a major country the US deems as a rival, and Russia's neighboring countries, like Ukraine and Belarus, have also been infiltrated by the US. Washington aims at turning these countries into pawns in its strategic competition with Beijing and Moscow.
The Guardian's report quoted Thant Myint-U, historian and former presidential adviser of Myanmar, who declared that the Western approach to "failing states" is rooted in "ideas around elections, democracy, and human rights." But obviously, by doing so, the US' real purpose is to find excuses for interfering in these countries. The US government does not give any consideration to the feelings of local people, nor does it care about the interests of these countries.
"If the model imposed by the West is really suitable for these countries, then local people would have accepted it. But in fact, most people and political parties in these countries have rejected the US model. This shows that the model advocated by the US and the West is a political manipulation with evil intentions, rather than providing real freedom and democracy that benefit local people," Li Haidong, professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.
However, such infiltration of the US is doomed to fail. Take Afghanistan, for example. The US tried to spread democracy in Afghanistan in the past 20 years, yet its hasty withdrawal shows that its so-called fight against terrorism and promotion of "democratic reforms" has completely failed.
The US' barbaric acts will undoubtedly run up against a stone wall in the world. However, China has always respected the sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban has shown its will to engage in good relations with China. The head of the Afghan Taliban Political Commission, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, said in a meeting in July with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi that China has always been a reliable friend of the Afghan people. The Taliban has also said that it welcomes Chinese investments in Afghanistan's reconstruction.
"It now appears that the US is more like a 'failing state,' not these countries. The US government has failed to control the COVID-19 epidemic and its hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan has embarrassed itself in the international community. With unsuccessful governance, there are more signs showing that the US is becoming a typical failing state but it refuses to admit this itself," Li said.
Some Western countries and media outlets are still immersed in their own fantasies, sensationally hyping the "crises" surrounding China. In fact, most of China's neighboring countries are stable, as the center of the global economy is shifting from the US and Europe to Asia.
Botched Afghan retreat reveals an America struggling to contain China
`
Unable to better China in positive competition and with military
options unfeasible, the US can only fall back on the ‘moral high
ground’. But in its hasty Afghan withdrawal, to focus on China, the US
risks losing even this...
Penang (2,474) reached a new record Sspt 8, 2021. Hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients has also been trending up, despite 49.4 percent of its population being vaccinated. [see vaccination chart below]
Hospital bed use for Covid-19 patients in Penang has reached 109 percent - the highest in the country - while intensive care bed use is 93.2 percent. [see hospitalisation chart below]
In Sarawak (3,100), the authorities said 99.87 percent of new cases involved patients in Category 1 or 2 (no symptoms or mild symptoms). However, Health Ministry data shows that hospitalisation is still on a 14-day uptrend.
Hospital bed use by Covid-19 patients Negeri Sembilan has dropped 70.9 percent since peaking on July 31.
As of yesterday, the R-naught for the country is 0.95. A R-naught of less than 1.00 suggests that the spread of Covid-19 was slowing down.
The R-naught for the Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan have all fallen below 0.90.
Regions where the R-naught is more than 1.00 are Pahang, Perak, Terengganu, Sarawak, Perlis and Penang, Malacca and Johor.
The number of active cases have continued trend downwards today the intensive care bed use is dropping slowly over the past month.
Active cases: 248,673
Patients in ICU: 904*
Intubated: 430*
[Does not include patients classified as 'probable'.]
New cases by states
Sarawak (3,100)
Selangor (2,989)
Penang (2,474)
Sabah (2,067)
Johor (1,867)
Kedah (1,564)
Kelantan (1,471)
Perak (1,319)
Terengganu (904)
Pahang (700)
Kuala Lumpur (537)
Malacca (375)
Negeri Sembilan (256)
Perlis (74)
Putrajaya (29)
Labuan (7)
Deaths
The Health Ministry reported another 361 deaths attributed to Covid-19 today, bringing the national death toll to 19,163.
There were 102 patients who were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital of which a quarter were reported in Sabah alone.
Selangor (67) reported the highest number of deaths followed by Johor (65), Sabah (54), Kedah (51), Kuala Lumpur (34), Negeri Sembilan (29), Kelantan (17), Sarawak (10), Terengganu (9), Malacca (8), Perak (6), Penang (5), Pahang (4) and Perlis (2).
Clusters
The Health Ministry is currently monitoring 1,459 active Covid-19 clusters.
Another 35 new clusters were classified today of which 20 involved workplaces.
Industri Jalan Nuri cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Kuala Langat
Total infected: 79 out of 122 screened
Tapak Bina Persiaran Elmina cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Petaling
Total infected: 67 out of 129 screened
Industri Dua Jalan Anggerik Mokara 47 cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Klang
Total infected: 50 out of 167 screened
Industri Dua Jalan Bandar Lama cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Kuala Langat and Klang
Total infected: 30 out of 36 screened
Tapak Bina Persiaran Laman View cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Sepang
Total infected: 20 out of 69 screened
Tapak Bina Jalan Elegan cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Sepang
Total infected: 12 out of 92 screened
Pasar Matu cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Sarawak
District(s): Matu
Total infected: 29 out of 121 screened
Tapak Bina Jalan Tasek Mutiara Tujuh cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Penang
District(s): Seberang Perai Selatan
Total infected: 123 out of 518 screened
Tapak Bina Jalan Kubang Menerong cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Penang
District(s): Seberang Perai Utara and Seberang Perai Tengah
Total infected: 81 out of 290 screened
Jalan Mayang Pasir Tiga cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Penang
District(s): Barat Daya and Timur Laut
Total infected: 46 out of 468 screened
Zon Industri Bebas Tiga cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Penang
District(s): Barat Daya
Total infected: 21 out of 283 screened
Tapak Bina Jalan Tengku Azizah cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Johor
District(s): Johor Bahru
Total infected: 56 out of 235 screened
Industri Jalan Gangsa Kulai cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Johor
District(s): Kulai
Total infected: 18 out of 230 screened
Industri Jalan Johor Ayer Hitam cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Johor
District(s): Batu Pahat
Total infected: 15 out of 656 screened
Dah Tapak Bina Patani cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Kedah
District(s): Kuala Muda
Total infected: 54 out of 226 screened
Dah Empat Industri Sungai Petani cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Kedah
District(s): Kuala Muda
Total infected: 51 out of 117 screened
Industri Persiaran Pengkalan 32 cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Perak
District(s): Kinta
Total infected: 35 out of 120 screened
Semambu Empat cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Pahang
District(s): Kuantan
Total infected: 29 out of 55 screened
Ladang Jalan Bahau Rompin cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Negeri Sembilan
District(s): Jempol
Total infected: 75 out of 336 screened
Jalan PBR 12 cluster
Category: Workplace
State(s): Malacca
District(s): Melaka Tengah
Total infected: 25 out of 90 screened
Jalan Kubang Golok Merabang cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Kelantan
District(s): Bachok
Total infected: 20 out of 36 screened
Kampung Gong Manak cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Kelantan
District(s): Pasir Puteh
Total infected: 15 out of 18 screened
Jalan Kubang Kacang cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Kelantan
District(s): Kota Bharu
Total infected: 14 out of 23 screened
Kampung Kedap cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Kelantan
District(s): Pasir Mas, Machang and Kota Bharu
Total infected: 14 out of 26 screened
Kampung Kuala Besar cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Kelantan
District(s): Kota Bharu
Total infected: 9 out of 17 screened
Lorong Pasir Lada cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Kelantan
District(s): Kota Bharu
Total infected: 9 out of 15 screened
Lorong Madrasah cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Kelantan
District(s): Pasir Mas
Total infected: 9 out of 13 screened
Lorong Penggawa Yahya cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Kelantan
District(s): Pasir Mas
Total infected: 5 out of 6 screened
Jalan Sutera Bakar Batu cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Johor
District(s): Johor Bahru
Total infected: 116 out of 193 screened
Sungai Tekam Jerantut cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Pahang
District(s): Jerantut
Total infected: 27 out of 82 screened
Lemujan cluster
Category: Community
State(s): Sarawak
District(s): Pakan
Total infected: 38 out of 42 screened
Jalan Chemor Estate cluster
Category: High-risk group
State(s): Perak
District(s): Kinta
Total infected: 75 out of 97 screened
Kampung Ayer Papan cluster
Category: High-risk group
State(s): Perak
District(s): Kinta
Total infected: 13 out of 31 screened
Jalan SP 5/4 cluster
Category: Non-Education Ministry institution
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Kuala Langat
Total infected: 17 out of 118 screened
Jalan Scientex 20 cluster
Category: Institusi Pendidikan Swasta Berdaftar di Bawah KPM
State(s): Johor
District(s): Kulai
Total infected: 11 out of 48 screened
In the later years of my school life, I used to attend parties thrown by my schoolmates for their birthday, or just to have some fun, at their homes, especially when their parents were away.
I learned, or rather tried, a few types of dances at these parties. There was the jive, the fox-trot, the waltz, the shake and the funky chicken (yeah, there was such a dance). Those of us who didn’t know any dance would just – as they say – go with the flow.
And man, when you have Creedence Clearwater Revival or Deep Purple singing on your vinyl, you can flow any which way.
The twist was still around, although not as popular, and there was the tango.
I was never good at tango, but a few of my friends were. The tango has some very sharp movements but it’s largely a kind of walking dance. Good tango dancers exhibit exceptionally fluid and fast movements, and it can be sensual.
The dancers – the “lead” and the “follow” – mirror each other’s steps, with the leader initiating the moves and the follower maintaining this movement.
The tango also has something called “backleading” which happens when the follower moves without waiting for, or contrary to, the leader’s initiatives. A stronger form of this is called “hijacking’ where the follower takes control of the dance and leads the leader.
And this, my friends, is what we are seeing in Malaysian politics – especially government politics – today.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the lead in Bersatu and Pakatan Harapan and was dancing with the feeling that he was doing it his way, not knowing that some of the followers had other ideas. Then one follower, Muhyiddin Yassin, “hijacked” the dance and Mahathir was no longer the lead.
In fact, he was not even the follower.
It was one of those daring tango moves that is so smooth and sudden, those watching it can only open their mouths and gasp or exclaim “Wow!”. In this case, many Malaysians were jolted by the shock execution of what has come to be known as the Sheraton Move.
Establishing himself as the lead, Muhyiddin and Bersatu minus Mahathir tried some slick moves of their own with a new set of followers, including Umno, but it only lasted 17 months. Umno – which had always been the lead in the national tango until it, and the Barisan Nasional coalition, lost their majority in the 2018 general election – was tired of mirroring Muhyiddin’s steps.
The lead in a tango is usually the male and Umno is full of raging male hormones, or thinks it is. So, it did a number on Muhyiddin and Bersatu by hijacking the dance to put itself back in the lead.
Umno’s nominee Ismail Sabri Yaakob is now the prime minister and the current lead. Malaysians were sorely disappointed when Ismail reappointed almost every minister who worked under Muhyiddin into his Cabinet. This is because most Malaysians consider that body of ministers a “failed Cabinet”.
And now Ismail has brought back Muhyiddin into the government as chairman of the National Recovery Council, which, we have been told, is a ministerial-level position.
Does this mean we now have two leads in the national tango? What will that do to the tango?
The chief secretary to the government, Mohd Zuki Ali, said on Sept 4 that the Cabinet had decided on the appointment because it had confidence in Muhyiddin’s ability to “spearhead the national recovery strategy to achieve the best economic impact and restore the lives of people severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Social media is full of comments and remarks about his appointment, so I won’t add anything except to say that Malaysians have been disappointed – yet again.
A citizen can be forgiven for thinking that government leaders do not seem to realise the seriousness of the situation we are in.
It doesn’t look like the Covid-19 pandemic will subside anytime soon, with our daily cases hovering around a whopping 20,000 and deaths of more than 250 a day. Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 cases per capita have surpassed that of India. Can you imagine that? We have a population of 32.7 million while India has a population of 1.3 billion, yet our per capita figures are excruciatingly painful.
On Sept 4, India had 42,618 new Covid-19 cases, with 330 deaths. Malaysia had 19,057 cases, with 362 deaths. On Sept 5, India had 42,766 new infections, with 308 deaths. Malaysia recorded 20,396 new cases with 336 deaths. On Monday, Sept 6, India reported 38,948 new cases, with 219 deaths. Malaysia had 17,352 new cases, with 272 deaths.
Also, most of our neighbouring countries are faring better than us.
Because of the pandemic and poorly planned and executed movement restrictions, many people are struggling to put food on the table, and businesses continue to close shop daily. Officially about 800,000 are unemployed but I’m sure the actual figure is higher. More people are expected to lose jobs and more businesses are expected to shutter in the next few months.
The Covid-19 deaths have left many families without the breadwinner and children without their parents. I keep hearing of children losing both their parents to the disease.
Suicides have increased and more people are feeling pressured, and are losing their balance. Many are worried about their future and that of their children who have missed physical school for more than a year.
And our politicians continue to tango.
By A. KATHIRASEN
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
