For
a regime that is extremely sensitive to the label "back door
government", Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has done everything to
prove that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) regime is an undemocratic force
in this country and that they are deathly afraid of the will of the
rakyat.
The
problem with this emergency was that it was never a real emergency, to
begin with. An “emergency” for those of us who lived through it, was a
disruption of normalcy that had a profound effect on our daily lives.
This
government has been so incompetent that it has made flip-flopping
normal. These days if some ridiculous statement comes out of a minion
from Putrajaya, the rakyat can be assured that there would be
conflicting statements as the day progresses.
This emergency is a
farce, which is rightly mocked by the average citizen who is going
through difficult times while the political elites in this country wage a
very public war for power and access to the dwindling cargo of the
Malaysian gravy train.
Folks like to claim that this is some kind
of existential threat to democracy in this country. The reality is that
democracy was always hanging by a thread in this country.
Repressive
laws that were supposed to be overturned when Pakatan Harapan entered
Putrajaya were ignored or worse because suddenly not spooking the Malays
became a big issue.
Nobody
has any idea of what PN stands for. I know, from public statements,
that their agenda is to stop PKR president Anwar Ibrahim from becoming
prime minister, upholding Malay rights, which they claim Harapan was
derelict in, and hating and blaming DAP for everything. Beyond that,
there is nothing that points to coherent strategies and policies.
While
Umno has a track record of corruption and government malfeasance, it
also has a track record of winning elections and in those days, when the
idea of BN meant something, it had a track record of winning the
popular vote. In other words, a majority of Malaysians voted for BN.
People often ask me, what can Harapan do about this situation? How can Harapan save democracy in this country?
The
reality is that Harapan cannot do anything to end this emergency. They
can make all the noise they want but the only people who can end this
emergency are the treacherous bunch that started this mess in the first
place.
And really when they had the chance to strengthen our
democratic institutions, Harapan seemed interested in replaying the old
BN games that sustained past governments for decades.
Speaking of
making noise, the power group that the PN regime truly fears are the
so-called “court cluster” who are making it clear that they want this
government out for reasons of their own.
With the Malay votes as
split as it is and the willingness of Anwar to align with anyone who
would give him a shot at the crown of Putrajaya, the Sheraton movers are
in a state of panic as to how they will fare when MPs are convened.
Hence
this horse manure about reaching herd immunity before Parliament can be
reconvened. The fact is, that even if Parliament is reconvened, the
opposition has publicly stated that it would not call a vote of no
confidence and all they want to do is discuss the response of the
government to the pandemic.
This of course means very little,
because PN is smart enough to realise once Parliament is back in session
anything can happen and they would face reckoning they are unprepared
for.
So far the PN regime, with its motley crew of Malay uber
alles politicians from various power groups, have demonstrated that they
have no use for democracy or democratic institutions, believing that
the emergency grants them all the power they need to run this country.
Even
then the rakyat should understand that this regime is not using the
full force of emergency powers because to do so would wreck the
economy.
Indeed, they are not even using the full force of powers
to enforce a strict lockdown because to do so would endanger the
economy and this would lead to a revolt of the kind that would
necessitate a real emergency.
So sure, they may harass everyday
folks with sedition laws and they may attempt to intimidate dissent with
various emergency powers but the reality is that the PN state will not
do anything that would lead people to believe that the only way to
revolt is with open hostility.
The reason why there is so much
discord in the PN cabinet is because everyone is trying to protect the
economy at the same time protect their political interests.
Unfortunately, both are mutually exclusive, especially during a
pandemic.
