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PETALING JAYA: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang called for an emergency humanitarian aid package for Sabah, saying the State cannot wait for Budget 2021 to be tabled as this is an urgent need.

Lim said Putrajaya needed to take responsibility for the surge in Covid-19 cases there, adding that the current situation was the result of long-term neglect between the federal and state governments.

He said Sabah reported 102 Covid-19 related deaths in October alone compared with only eight lives lost in other parts of Malaysia, and the death toll could increase without the emergency package.

“Sabah’s vulnerability to the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic is unacceptable and contrary to all the promises made during last month’s State election to give serious attention to the problems and needs of Sabahans. The impression, especially by Sabahans, that they have been left to fend for themselves against the ravages of the third wave of the pandemic must not be allowed to continue.

“This is the time when Putrajaya should give emergency aid to Sabahans who are facing a humanitarian crisis, keeping in mind that Sabah’s oil and gas revenue has provided billions to the national coffers,” Lim said in a statement Thursday.

Malaysia reported 801 Covid-19 cases and eight deaths on Wednesday, with seven deaths and 546 infections from Sabah.