COMMENT | To say that Malaysians and the government are obsessed with numbers would be an understatement. Almost daily, figures are churned out – some bordering on the obvious and the others bordering on absurdity.

But for a moment, let’s put aside the government numbers. And this commentary is certainly not meant to distract the reader from the real issues.

These are figures that may not matter to many but have been put on paper and recorded for posterity. Collated from news reports, they make interesting reading, Not all of them can be classified as dubious or lack of righteousness. On the contrary, they provide the contrasts as we carry out our daily lives during the pandemic.

Some of them speak highly of “achievements” by individuals, bodies corporate and government agencies while a few show the existence of different...