A
Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat (, also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party")
is a transnational Deobandi Islamic Dawah, missionary movement
that focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant
and encouraging fellow memb ...
religious conference that took place at the "Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling" in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
's
Sri Petaling
Sri Petaling (also known as Bandar Baru Sri Petaling) is a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia. The township is located in the south of the city, within the constituency of Seputeh, and is bordered by the towns of Happy Garden, Taman OUG, ...
district between 27 February to 1 March 2020 became a
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
super-spreader
A superspreading event (SSEV) is an event in which an infectious disease is spread much more than usual, while an unusually contagious organism infection, infected with a pathogen, disease is known as a superspreader. In the human-to-human transmi ...
event with more than 3,300 cases being linked to the event.
By 19 May 2020, the Malaysian Director-General of Health
Noor Hisham Abdullah
Noor Hisham bin Abdullah (born Yew Ming Seong; 21 April 1963) is a Malaysian civil servant and endocrine surgeon who has served as the Director-General of Health since March 2013. Prior to his appointment, he served as the Deputy Director Ge ...
confirmed that 48% of the country's COVID-19 cases (3,347) had been linked to the Kuala Lumpur Tablighi Jamaat cluster.
Additionally, nearly 10% of attendees were overseas visitors, causing COVID-19 to spread to other countries in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
.
On 8 July 2020, this cluster was declared over by the
Ministry of Health.
Although much more widespread, the Tabligh event was not the first wave of coronavirus in Malaysia.
Event
Between 27 February and 1 March 2020, the
Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat (, also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party")
is a transnational Deobandi Islamic Dawah, missionary movement
that focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant
and encouraging fellow memb ...
movement organised an international conference at the "Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling" in
Sri Petaling
Sri Petaling (also known as Bandar Baru Sri Petaling) is a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia. The township is located in the south of the city, within the constituency of Seputeh, and is bordered by the towns of Happy Garden, Taman OUG, ...
,
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
The religious gathering was attended by approximately 16,000 attendees (only 12,500 attendees as claimed by the Sri Petaling tabligh group leaders) including about 1,500 from outside Malaysia.
Attendees were found to share food, sit close together, and hold hands at the event. According to guests, the leaders of the event did not talk about COVID-19 precautions, but most attendees
washed their hands during the event. Malaysian authorities were criticised for allowing the event to go forward.
Spread
The Sri Petaling Tablighi Jamaat gathering has been linked to more than 620
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
cases in March 2020, making it the largest-known centre of transmission of the virus in Southeast Asia at that time.
At least seven countries have traced their cases back to the Malaysia event; most of the 73 COVID-19 cases in
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...
have been linked to the event, as well as 22 in
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
, 13 in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, 10 in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, 5 in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, 2 in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, and 2 in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
By 13 March, the Malaysian
Ministry of Health had revised the number of Malaysian Tablighi Jamaat participants from 5,000 to 14,500, raising concerns that more positive cases could be discovered. Of the 14,500 participants, 41 tested positive for COVID-19, which brought the total number of cases in Malaysia to 238. By 17 March, the Sri Petaling event had resulted in the biggest increase in
COVID-19 cases in Malaysia, with almost two-thirds of the 673 confirmed cases in Malaysia linked to this event.
On 29 March, Director-General
Noor Hisham Abdullah
Noor Hisham bin Abdullah (born Yew Ming Seong; 21 April 1963) is a Malaysian civil servant and endocrine surgeon who has served as the Director-General of Health since March 2013. Prior to his appointment, he served as the Deputy Director Ge ...
announced that the Tabligh cluster had reached the fifth generation. By 19 May, Noor Hisham confirmed that 48% of Malaysia's COVID-19 cases (3,347) had been linked to the Sri Petaling tabligh cluster.
Aftermath
The Sri Petaling Tablighi Jamaat gathering coincided with a
domestic political crisis that had been triggered by the resignation of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Mahathir Mohamed
Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...
on 24 February, which led to the collapse of the
Pakatan Harapan
The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the ...
coalition government and the resignation of
Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
Dzulkefly Ahmad. Before the formation of a new
Perikatan Nasional
The National Alliance ( ms, Perikatan Nasional; abbreviation, abbrev: PN) is a political coalition composed of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). This coa ...
government under the leadership of Prime Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin
Tan Sri Dato' Haji Mahiaddin bin Md Yasin (born 15 May 1947), commonly known as Muhyiddin bin Muhammad Yassin ( ms, محيي الدين بن محمد ياسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ), is a Malaysian politician who serv ...
on 1 March, the Health Ministry would not have a
minister for over two weeks until the appointment of
Adham Baba
}
Dato' Sri Dr. Adham bin Baba ( ms, أدهم بن بابا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 6 October 1962) is a Malaysian doctor and a politician who served as Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation from 2021 to 2022. P ...
on 10 March. During that time, there was only advice from the Health Ministry to minimise public exposure.
In response to a rapid rise in cases, Malaysian health authorities on 11 March began tracking around 5,000 Malaysian citizens who were suspected of being exposed to COVID-19 during the Sri Petaling Tablighi Jamaat gathering.
Many of the infected had returned to their respective states and communities, which had led to a surge in community transmissions throughout Malaysia.
In mid-April, Adham criticized the former PH Government's handling of the Sri Petaling Tabligh Jamaat cluster.
In response, Dzulkefy defended the PH Government's preparations for COVID-19 and suggested that Prime Minister Muhyiddin, the former
Home Affairs Minister, was responsible for the outbreak since public gatherings like the Tabligh Jamaat would have come under his portfolio.
By late 2020, a
Top Glove
Top Glove Corporation Berhad is a Malaysian rubber glove manufacturer who also specialises in face masks, dental dams, and other products. The company owns and operates 50 manufacturing facilities in Malaysia, Thailand, China, and Vietnam. Th ...
factory become the largest cluster of COVID-19 to date after Tablighi Jamaat, reporting more than 7,000 cases in Malaysia.
Stigmatization
There have been reports of viral infections being blamed on other communities. Indonesian spread has been blamed on weak government regulations on Chinese workers and tourists, and Tablighi Jamaat for the Malaysian outbreak. Chinese community members have also engaged in religious and racial profiling following the spread linked to the Tablighi cluster.
Rohingyas
The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
have also been targeted and accused of spreading COVID-19.
See also
*
2020 Tablighi Jamaat coronavirus hotspot in Delhi
A Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation that took place in Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque in early March 2020 was a COVID-19 super-spreader event, with more than 4,000 confirmed cases and at least 27 deaths linked to the event reported acr ...
*
2020 Tablighi Jamaat COVID-19 hotspot in Pakistan
A Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation that took place in Lahore's Raiwind Markaz in early March 2020 was a COVID-19 super-spreader event with more than 539 confirmed cases linked to the event being reported across the country. Science and T ...
*
Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia may refer to:
*Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia (2020)
*Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia (2021)
*Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia (2022)
*Timeline of the COVID-19 ...
Notes and references
{{COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
February 2020 events in Malaysia
March 2020 events in Malaysia
Tablighi Jamaat
2020s in Malaysia