Pray tell, Nik Abduh, what would you have done?

 

When people come together with the aim of helping others in trying times, it can be irritating to hear a sermon about placing trust in God, especially if it comes from someone who, in theory, is in a position to influence government policy.

But that is exactly what Nik Abduh Nik Aziz of PAS did in belittling the White Flag campaign.

The initiative, launched recently on social media, urged people who need immediate assistance, especially food, to display a white flag at their homes as they try to cope with the latest lockdown.

Already, the campaign has brought some results. Good Samaritans have rushed to the aid of those less fortunate than themselves.

A welder in Johor, who was unsure whether hoisting a white flag at his house would be effective, did so anyway and had his rent and car loans paid. He is now able to provide for his family for a few months.

Nik Abduh’s advice for people to “raise your hands in prayer to God” and not admit defeat in the face of challenges by raising a white flag is callous at best.

At worst, it comes off as a cop-out by an MP making excuses for a ruling coalition that some see as struggling or failing to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects.

Nik Abduh should ask why the public would take up such a campaign despite the plethora of initiatives by Putrajaya to help cushion the impact of the pandemic.

The fact that the common man launched such a campaign is telling. The people are taking matters into their own hands, not leaving them in the hands of the gods.

There is a similar theme that can be seen in comments left by readers on news articles about preacher Ebit Lew coming to the aid of the destitute: that private citizen Ebit Lew does a better job helping the people than does the government.

Clearly, the people want solutions. They want clear, carefully thought-out strategies for the country to come out of the health crisis. They want clarity, even – or perhaps especially – on something as simple as an SOP, and not the muddle that we have become used to.

Certainly, at this desperate stage, they are not looking for advice from a pulpit. Least of all do they need a moralising admonishment.

Faced with such sentiments on the ground, MPs should feel ashamed that the people, for whom they have continually pledged to work, are picking up the slack. More so an MP such as Nik Abduh, who has been so dismissive of the people’s efforts.

After all, heaven knows he cannot do much for them at this point.

Sean Augustin is a news editor at FMT.