Voices of doom during the pandemic

 

Like the scanner at the Customs checkpoint in Port Klang and the CCTV in the Miri lockup, the government machinery is not only malfunctioning but on the verge of a complete breakdown. This has resulted in little remaining of systems and structures related to governance.

They have been replaced in some cases by warlords who want it to be done "My Way", throwing caution to the winds and adopting an "I know best" attitude.

Urgent remedial action is the only diagnostical answer for a cure. Is there a dogmatic and determined will and resolve to put an end to all these in the interests of the country and its people? Can an end be put to all the politicking and the tomfooleries of politicians, their cronies and wannabes?

"Kaput" may not be the most appropriate word to describe the current state of affairs. But at the rate things are moving, we will get there soon enough.

While some of the perpetrators of the problems can be classified as recalcitrant, the buck stops with the prime minister, because it was he who put them in positions of power – ministers and their deputies.

Thereafter, it was he who "bought" support from warlords and members of Parliament with offers of positions in statutory bodies and government-linked companies.

The results have been disastrous. Some ministers seem to believe they have a divine right to do anything while others give a new meaning to the term "Cash is King".

The right to hire and fire has taken new dimensions, and long-standing and knowledgeable employees, including experienced chief executives, have been dismissed arbitrarily. Contracts have been terminated without considering the legal implications and consequences.

The public wondering if the right people have been appointed and if all issues are considered and well thought of before implementation. The provisions of the latest movement control order (MCO) implemented two weeks ago is an example.

Did it need a campaign hash-tagged #SiBodohKauDengarSini (listen here, idiot) to jolt the decision-makers to revise the closing times of restaurants? Why is the government attracting such insults and labels? How much more abuse is needed to make sure they put on their thinking caps before promulgating regulations?

It is understandable because of the patchwork done by the powers-that-be which allowed jewellers, and clothes boutiques to open and yet bar barbershops and disallowed (initially) motor assemblers from operating.

The rules state that any event that involves many people making it difficult to enforce physical distancing is not allowed. But who is listening? Politicians continue to organise events and gatherings with impunity and contempt for the law.

The flip-flops, ambiguity and methodology used in selecting what kind of business can operate are flawed. And each time remedial action is taken to reverse certain decisions, the inevitable question is: "Didn't they talk it over or consult the stakeholders over the implications?"

In May last year, in an open letter to the prime minister, I wrote: "The Penang chief minister has thrown down the gauntlet and, in the process, told Malaysians of the haphazard and disorganised manner in which the preamble to the (partial) lifting of the MCO was discussed. To use the word "slipshod" would be an understatement.

"Sir, the coronavirus crisis and the MCO have brought both the best and worst of Malaysians. The latter category is infested with politicians – most of them who are on your side, supposedly or pretending to be your allies. The problems they have caused and the embarrassing situations they put themselves into also affect us – the citizens and this beloved country."

Has anything changed? Instead of using an iron fist against those who breach the rules, the establishment has chosen to play footsy with selected entities. After all the hullabaloo and the publicity generated over workers' accommodation, not a single errant employer has been prosecuted.

They thumped their chest and said "we are preferring 38 charges in one case", but since that announcement more than a month ago, there has hardly been a whimper. Why?

We have hit the 4,000 mark in the number of Covid19 infections over the past few days. Yet, politicians continue to make decisions in defiance of health authorities. The clarion calls to stay at home and observe standard operating procedures (SOPs) have fallen on deaf ears.

The prime minister's periodic appearance on television, reading from a prepared text, has not assured us confidence. On the contrary, the cynics are placing bets as to which politician will defy him first!

For a moment, let's put the MCO aside and consider the performance of the government. Its capabilities or the lack of it; its failure to transform individuals into a cohesive unit; and the inability to hold law-breakers among them to be accountable for their actions – are signs of weakness and an impending disaster.

The tell-tale signs are all there. Some state governments are implementing unpalatable rules and regulations without consulting Putrajaya, which are acts of defiance and showing their strength.

For the prime minister who once decreed that he is "Malay first and Malaysian second", the voices of doom are being reverberated by his own kind who are also government members.

It would be adding salt in the wound by saying that what goes around comes around, but would this backdoor government end up as the first failed government in our 64-year-old history?

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R NADESWARAN feels that the prime minister is too soft and making too many concessions to stay in power. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com. - Mkini

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.