YOURSAY | Hanging on to power is the only rationale for ‘emergency’

 

YOURSAY | ‘I doubt anyone would believe that declaring an emergency is for any reason other than political.’

Cabinet agrees on 'emergency' to battle Covid-19, PM to seek royal consent

Vijay47: So as we have feared, the declaration of emergency is coming to pass. It must be the biggest act of cowardice since Sept 16, 1963, or even Aug 31, 1957.

Not only that, despite our occasional disappointments and setbacks, both these dates have now been contaminated by betrayal never before suffered in this country. We have done much that has earned the world’s contempt and disbelief, but we have never fallen to such depths of shame.

There was always this conviction that our government was never truly concerned with the ravages of Covid-19; the disease is a grave misfortune of fate seized for evil ends, to survive and stay in power since otherwise, many would still see their days served in prison.

I doubt anyone would believe that declaring an emergency is for any reason other than political.

On the contrary, the people on the street despite disparate political positions, came together to face a common foe. If Covid is indeed a national enemy, it was never seen in the government’s response. From the start, opposition states were excluded from crucial meetings to decide a common stand to combat the virus. This selective proclaimed-anxiety was so visible in what was allowed to strike Sabah.

How would the continuation of parliamentary democracy be to the detriment of fighting the medical threat? In the eight months that we have been under attack, the only real obstacles we faced were inefficiency and indecision. If we were that serious about Covid-19, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali should have been thrown into jail rather than being welcomed as a returning hero.

The cue-cards had been prepared early, and the actors faithfully began reading them of late. It boggles the mind that leaders like Ahmad Zahid Hamid, Annuar Musa and Abdul Hadi Awang would be bothered about the disease when their own political well-being was on the chopping block.

The virus has savaged the whole world; the toll is almost unbelievable in the United States, Brazil, India, Russia, and Spain. All of them have been grievously hit but none, not a single one, chose to curtail civil liberties.

A health calamity has to be fought with medical measures, strong and unrelenting if need be. Yes, Malaysia has certainly been badly affected, but not to a catastrophic extent. I can only weep for Tunku Abdul Rahman. Goodbye, Malaysiakini, I am not sure you will see the sunrise tomorrow.

FairMalaysian: It cannot be the spike in numbers of Covid-19 cases. The previous movement control order (MCO) and enhanced MCO had been successfully used to control the spread of Covid-19 the last time around. So, this looks like merely an excuse to circumvent the possibility of losing a no-confidence vote.

Even with infection numbers rising, Singapore did not suspend Parliament, and neither did New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka. The country with the highest number of deaths, the US, is going forward with its elections.

When you have PAS in the equation together with Bersatu, this shouldn't come as surprising.

This government has made a date with destiny, and it will regret choosing this reckless and dangerous path. In wanting to cling on to power, it doesn't care about how this may lead to unenviable consequences, both local and foreign.

People at least will know who is for democracy and who is against democracy. They will certainly know what will happen if the power goes to the wrong hands.

Iiiizzzziiii: This is a classic move by a fascist government in an attempt to hold onto power by using fear tactics on the people. And the Covid-19 pandemic provides the perfect platform for it.

From MCO to a declaration of emergency rule, call it any way you want, is the introduction of martial law by the fascist government. Wide sweeping power will be given to authorities to uphold the law as to how it deems fit.

After more than 60 years of independence, we are witnessing the death of democracy, or as an old man once famously said “guided democracy”. The country had reached a point of no return. Once it has crossed over the line, a fascist government will not give up power peacefully and embrace the concept of democracy easily. History will always repeat itself.

We are already witnessing a milder form earlier on, but now you can expect it in full force. If you are one of those who walk the corridor of power, then good for you, and for those who don't, be prepared to be crushed under the boots of your new masters if you disobey or dare to go against them.

The bright side is nothing lasts forever; power struggle is always cyclical in nature. Let's see how all these plays out.

MS: So finally, Malaysians get to know what “power-hungry” means - blatantly abuse the constitution, abuse the institutions and instruments of governance, lie to the people, mislead them and railroad fiscal decisions without subjecting them to scrutiny.

All those who thought former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's furtive fraudulence was already bad, think again. The “Malay-first” gang which plotted to oust him did so but only for a bigger prize - complete and totally unsupervised control of the Treasury, to do as it likes, to declare laws and regulations as it goes along, with no questions asked.

Foreign capital will flee, investors will freeze in their tracks, as ordinary citizens ponder their dark and uncertain future as they get laid off with bills to pay and creditors to avoid.

And so, an overwhelming question: Is this the regime's deliberate response to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong who warned against pushing the country into political uncertainty, again?

PurpleJaguar0553: This is nothing but a coup d’etat by a man who has lost the confidence of the majority of MPs in Parliament. This is ridiculous and outrageous. Future leaders will use this as a precedent to hang onto power.

Malaysia is now well and truly on the slippery slope toward failed regimes like Uganda and Zimbabwe. The ringgit will be worth nothing, and our economy will be left in tatters. Eventually, we will all have to look for work as maids in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Well Thats Fantastic: What extra powers are needed? They can already lock us down, restrict our movements, and they can force us into quarantine. What else is there they might need to do to stop the spread of Covid-19?

I can't imagine what emergency powers they might need to battle this. It seems more like this is about one team holding power against the will of our democracy.

Fair&Unbiased: Desperate people do desperate things. But this emergency coup is absolute madness. Think of our dying economy and the livelihood of millions.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is turning out to be a dictator and is clinging on to power at all cost, even at the expense of all Malaysians. It's going to be a very sad day in Malaysian politics.

Aida: And to those who were saying PKR president Anwar Ibrahim is power-hungry, this is a slap in the face. This is what you wanted, right? - Mkini