COMMENT | If there is one thing a kakistocracy does well, it is to create small groups of people to manage a problem that the architects of such groups created in the first place. 

The keyword here is "manage" and not "solve" because solving problems requires a skill set that these political operatives and their various lackeys do not have.

The people who do have the required skills, commitment and dedication to actually help solve problems will no doubt be shunted aside, lost in the constant politicking that would go on in these types of “special councils”. 

Malaysians would either be kept completely in the dark – even though transparency was promised – and there would be numerous leaks for partisan advantage.

This proposed National Recovery Council (NRC) has already got off to a rocky start with opposition political operatives already staking the partisan ground, calling out other proposed members and offering up their own choices.

Honestly, what if Star Media Group advisor Wong Chun Wai is a mouthpiece of the MCA? The idea of bipartisanship is working with people with different political affiliations for the betterment of the country.

Mind you, targeting certain individuals with their dodgy histories is hypocritical because every political operative and lackey in this council comes with baggage and turning this into a partisan issue should tell the average rakyat that this is just another avenue for attention-seeking personalities.

Think of it this way. If this were really an independent council, staffed by people who actually know what they are doing, we would probably have never heard of these people. The people with the expertise which would be relevant normally serve in the background.

The fact that the opposition and the establishment want names, that the people have probably heard of, is to project either credibility or the safeguarding of interests. 

Honestly, it is the behind-the-scenes people who actually know what is going on and could, if given the chance present objective policies. What we are talking about here is substance and not merely form. 

The council would be chaired by an experienced bureaucrat (maybe even retired) or even someone from the military with foreign peacekeeping experience.

All this talk of bipartisanship is complete horse manure and the cynic in me believes that this council is an exercise in spreading the blame around more than actually acting as some sort of cohesive unit to tackle the vagaries and recovery of this pandemic.

Nobody really knows the terms of such committees because, in any kind of Malaysian political council, terms are kept vague because nobody really has any idea what to do, beyond projecting the image of doing something.

This is all about controlling the narrative and while the PN regime has made strides in its vaccination programmes, the reality is that this should have been done from the start.

Indeed the ramping up of vaccination proves that the government is capable of actually doing the work of a government, but the dismal manner in which it is handling the pandemic is demonstrative of the complete indifference of the minions from Putrajaya.

Why is there a need for this council, anyway? If the PN regime is really interested in working collaboratively with all opposition parties, it would reopen Parliament and allow for open debate and transparency through the relevant bodies - which would demonstrate good faith.

Instead, the Malay political establishment is still fighting with itself and the opposition is attempting to politically profit from this pandemic.

The old maverick is right in his criticisms of the NRC. Of course, there is way too much self-aggrandising when it comes to the old maverick and nobody should want him anywhere near this council. However, the points he has raised are valid ones.

This is just another attempt by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to attach himself and his party to what he thinks is a winning play. 

Even if there are failures and setbacks, Muhyiddin has the cover of this council and no doubt there will be finger-pointing in the council to add to the mayhem.

I hope Malaysians understand that it is not that there is a lack of professionals and bureaucrats who could offer constructive solutions to the problems created by this pandemic. 

It is the nature of the Malaysian government to sideline these people. It is government policy to choose racists, bigoted and incompetent hacks over the professionalism and competency and then play the race and religion card when it comes falling down.