COVID-19 Will Either Make Or Break Muhyiddin Yassin

Yes, Muhyiddin will need to be very brilliant to pull off the greatest coup in Malaysian history (coup: a highly successful, unexpected stroke, act, or move; a clever action or accomplishment). Most importantly, Muhyiddin needs to surround himself with brilliant people and he must listen to their advice. A smart person does not need to be brilliant, a smart person just needs to get brilliant people to do the job.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

A new prime minister (or president) normally goes through the first 100 days test. They are normally rated on how they perform in these first 100 days. Results, however, are not expected immediately because the first term (of four years or five years) would focus on policies and strategies and the second term on implementation and results.

Muhyiddin Yassin, however, Malaysia’s eighth prime minister or PM8, does not have the luxury of one term to show results. In fact, his term is not even going to run for five years and constitutionally must end around June 2023. Muhyiddin has to show his one-term results in just three months or so.

Never before has a prime minister needed to produce results in just three months — other than maybe Winston Churchill.

Churchill turned a disaster into Britain’s “finest hour”

Churchill became Prime Minister of Britain on Friday, 10th May 1940 in one of the most dramatic days in British history. The government was in disarray and, in Europe, Germany was moving towards the English Channel.

In September 1939, Germany had invaded Poland and, on 10th May 1940, the day Churchill became Prime Minister, Germany invaded Belgium and the Netherlands. By 24th May, just two weeks later, the Germans had captured the port of Boulogne and had surrounded Calais, trapping more than 300,000 allied forces.

Two days later, on 26th May, Churchill launched the evacuation of Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, where 338,226 allied forces were evacuated to England. The whole thing was actually chaotic and a disaster but Churchill managed to turn it into Britain’s “finest hour”.

Anyway, the COVID-19 pandemic is not quite the level of the evacuation of Dunkirk but the issue here is Muhyiddin is not being given his customary 100 days. Everything that Muhyiddin does needs to have been done yesterday. Even today is too late.

Muhyiddin has only three months to complete what normally would take three years

This COVID-19 pandemic is either going to make Muhyiddin or it is going to break him. He is going to be remembered as the greatest success or the most miserable failure. These next three months or 100 days will determine that.

No doubt Muhyiddin did not create the problem. He inherited it. The Pakatan Harapan government did not take the necessary action two months earlier when they could have — and by the time action was taken by the new Perikatan Nasional government the COVID-19 pandemic had already become a problem.

But then Muhyiddin cannot claim innocence because he was also part of that old Pakatan Harapan government. No doubt, in Malaysia, especially with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Prime Minister, even the Deputy Prime Minister is merely a ceremonial post. But we must remember, Mahathir always says that decisions are cabinet decisions and taken collectively. Hence everyone in the cabinet has to share the blame.

Pakatan Harapan’s failure is Muhyiddin’s inheritance but he cannot wash his hands of the problem either

But never mind whether Muhyiddin has to share the responsibility for Pakatan Harapan’s failure to address the COVID-19 problem before it became a problem. The issue now is Muhyiddin has to pull a rabbit out of his hat and turn a disaster into Malaysia’s “finest hour” (like what Churchill did with Dunkirk).

We said this last week, the COVID-19 pandemic is going to be more an economic crisis than a health crisis. Long after the virus has been defeated (or the vaccine against the virus discovered) the economic impact on the entire world will still be felt. Millions of business are going to collapse and maybe one billion people will become unemployed or destitute. 2020 is going to be worse than the pre-WWII “Great Depression”.

Yes, Muhyiddin will need to be very brilliant to pull off the greatest coup in Malaysian history (coup: a highly successful, unexpected stroke, act, or move; a clever action or accomplishment). Most importantly, Muhyiddin needs to surround himself with brilliant people and he must listen to their advice. A smart person does not need to be brilliant, a smart person just needs to get brilliant people to do the job.