Where are we now?

There is a pandemic raging around the world with more than four million cases globally and about 276,000 deaths.

Almost all the major economies of the world are in varying degrees of lock-down. All economies are expected to contract. The US reports 33 million unemployed. No vaccine or cure is in sight.

Governments now struggle to lift the lock-down as a continued lockdown is not an option with so many needing financial aid and food. Businesses shed workers with many facing permanent closure. No government has a clear idea of how they will protect their people and resume business activity at the same time. All now accept some collateral damage as the lockdown is lifted.

In Malaysia, a hastily assembled government struggles to manage the crisis. To be fair Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin appears to have done a reasonable job thus far. He is aided by a director-general of Health who has done a brilliant job and a health service that is probably one of the best in the region. All in all, the health service, police, armed forces, the Ministry of Finance and the central bank have done a creditable job.

The spirit of volunteerism and charity has been heart-warming. Thousands of volunteers stepped up with donations, gifts and their time to feed as many families as they could and to also provide frontliners with protective clothing and masks.

They came from all races and all religious groups. The work of PSM (Parti Sosialis Malaysia) was exemplary. They stood by the people even though they did not have a single person in parliament. All politicians should learn from them.

But how are things on the political front?

Bersatu leads that coalition with Muhyiddin as prime minister and with members of Bersatu dominating the cabinet, but Umno and PAS are strong members of that coalition. The two parties are pushing for a bigger role in the government.

An Umno leader has called on the prime minister to return to the party, and they will allow him to remain as premier. Members of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition scramble for positions in government and government-linked companies (GLCs). They have been out of power for more than two years, and the old practice of seeing politics as the path to riches seems to be reemerging.

Umno and PAS prepare for the next general election, and they make no bones about it. Their Muafakat is firm. They have rejected the idea of a closer union with Bersatu and state that their relationship with Bersatu is only until the next elections.

Bersatu’s leadership in the PN Government will be short-lived. There is no exit plan for the prime minister. Some Pakatan Harapan leaders including Mukriz Mahathir have called on him to return to Harapan. PKR President Anwar Ibrahim is head of Harapan, not Mahathir and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu has said that only the presidential council of Harapan can decide on that question and issue the invitation.

Quietly waiting for something to happen

What is going on in Harapan? Is the coalition at risk of collapse? What number of MPs still support them now that they are out of power? They have been relatively quiet in recent months.

Several of their members of Parliament (MPs) have been active in getting food to the poor, especially the poor in their constituencies. Some are more visible than others. Charles Santiago, Yeoh Bee Yin and Hannah Yeoh have been quite active in procuring food aid. Lim Kit Siang., Liew Chin Tong and a few others write articles which challenge PN on some things. But these are generally weak and uncertain in object and effect.

There is no evidence of a party in opposition. There have been calls for the formation of a shadow cabinet but that has not been done. Perhaps for obvious reasons. The presence of many non-Malays in the shadow cabinet will be a red flag to those committed to the ketuanan agenda.

Mahathir Mohamad remains chairperson of Bersatu He says that he will sit with the opposition, but he is no longer Harapan's chairperson. Anwar Ibrahim is the de facto chair of Harapan. He will also be the opposition leader.

Mahathir sits quietly waiting for something to happen. A motion of confidence in Mahathir proposed by Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal was rejected by Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof as being unconstitutional, but a motion of no confidence against Muhyiddin proposed by Mahathir has been accepted.

Does Mahathir have the numbers to win this motion? Were there discussions with Anwar and Lim Kit Siang? It is doubtful that there was any agreement between them because Anwar had assured Muhyiddin that he would not propose a motion of no confidence at the forthcoming session.

It is difficult to know what the object of this gambit is. Mahathir has said that he will not meet with Muhyiddin until he is satisfied that no deal has been made with those in Umno who are facing charges. Can Muhyiddin give him such assurance? Mahathir will be concerned about the future of Mukriz and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman. But there is no secure path now. Will Mahathir be accepted as prime minister for the third time after all that has happened?

What is Anwar doing? What is his plan for his future and the future of Harapan? They may not be the same. It is doubtful that he will have the majority to eventually move a motion of no confidence against Muhyiddin and PN. He carries the label "liberal", and his party is multiracial, and he is accused of being too cosy with the DAP.

Are there enough Malays in the country who are similarly liberal and not opposed to a multiracial government? There are no signs of new leaders being groomed for leadership. Is it not the time for leaders like Rafizi Ramli and Nurul Izzah to be brought to the fore? Is it not time for Anwar to plan for succession?

What is DAP doing? They are quietly contemplating their future. They trusted Mahathir and made many mistakes. Their main mistake was their inability to convince the Malays that Harapan would be a better government for the Malays.

In hindsight, the abolition of the GST was a bad idea as was the decision to acquire toll concessionaires and to withhold aid for Tunku Abdul Rahman University College. Some DAP Ministers had difficulty engaging effectively with the Civil servants. Looking back, Lim Guan Eng taking the position of finance minister might have been a poisoned chalice.

What role will the DAP play in opposition? Can they hold Mahathir and Anwar together? If forced to choose between one or the other which way will they go?

What is Amanah's contribution to all of this? I think then Harapan health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad was good for the country. Unfortunately, he is not there anymore. Mohamad Sabu was a tour de force on the campaign trail but less potent within Harapan.

What role will Amanah play in the forthcoming elections? Do they have the grassroots machinery to contest PAS in the Malay Muslim heartland? What is their argument for the Malay masses when PAS appears firmly ensconced in government? How are their objectives dissimilar? Are they firmly committed to the Federal Constitution and power-sharing with the non-Muslims?

A refreshing change of style

We should not be too critical of Harapan and its constituent parties. Mahathir, Bersatu and Azmin and friends had their personal agenda from the start.

The fault of DAP, PKR and Amanah - if they can be faulted for this - was their implicit faith in Mahathir. They were wrong. They did not expect Mahathir to resign as prime minister. They were simply not prepared for what happened. How could they have been?

On the other hand, the signs were there. A collective vision was absent. And Mahathir made no secret of his desire to build up Bersatu to replace Umno as the protector of the Malays.

Mistakes notwithstanding, Harapan brought about a refreshing change of style and policies. Harapan ministers were in the main committed to their tasks. There was never any suggestion of corruption or MPs seeking GLC positions as rewards.

Most worked hard to repair the damage done by the previous administration and to set the nation on a more stable footing. For the first time in a long time, non-Malay participation in government was more than just nominal. Non-muslims began to feel part of the government. The holding back of the reform agenda was, however, a bad mistake.

And so, there it is. PN was not the government we elected. For good or ill they are the government now and Harapan, the opposition.

What do those who supported Harapan do now? They comprise mostly non-Malays and a substantial number of moderate and progressive Malays. Non-Malays quietly ponder their fate under this government. Is a multiracial government no longer possible in Malaysia? And what are the implications of that?

The coronavirus and the lockdown simply distracted everybody from anything else. The fear of infection and losing jobs or losing businesses puts every other concern away from the focus of the voters.

The lockdown gives the government almost emergency-like powers. Parliament has been prorogued and by the look of things will continue to be prorogued barring one day in May.

We are a democracy, but the pandemic has given the government the excuse it needs to effectively suspend the operation of Parliament. We are constitutionally a democracy, but our government is not the one we elected, and parliament is effectively suspended.

And few have the energy to really care.

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DAVID DASS is a lawyer, a Malaysiakini subscriber and commentator. - Mkini