Is there anyone in charge of Malaysia?

Many people are getting the sinking feeling that there is no one in charge and that the country is “run” by a bunch of misfits from different political parties who compromised to keep each other in power.

(FMT) – The backdoor “government” is further helped by the pact signed by the opposition to give it more legitimacy.

The government should have been better prepared to handle emergencies. They have so many assets at their disposal, funded by taxpayers, and often paraded in staged public relations exercises.

But they were a massive failure. All that they could do was to heap blame on others, without accountability for their failings and shortcomings. Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government has become a lame-duck government limping towards GE15.

No one is really in charge of the rudderless country.

The opposition parties are as much to blame having signed the cooperation pact to help another backdoor government stay in power. The bipartisan pact signed covering six areas including strengthening a Covid-19 plan, transformation in governance, parliamentary reforms, and freedom of the judiciary has yet to show any results.

Instead the new Covid 19 measures proposed are more punitive on the ordinary people. The only credible person in the current cabinet seems to be Khairy Jamaluddin. He appears to be capable of handling the pandemic, as he is often seen on the ground with the front-liners and engaging the public, listening to the people’s grouses and complaints, unlike some other ministers who put up fake responses in high heel shoes.

While many items on the cooperation pact are works in progress, the opposition has been weakened in its role to keep the government in check. The biggest mistake is to give the opposition leader the same pay and privileges as a cabinet minister: it compromises the person. The opposition should be called out for their failures as much as the bumbling government they propped up.

Reformasi, long associated with Anwar Ibrahim, is just a slogan to keep one person’s legacy alive. It is quite unlike Indonesian president Jokowi’s reform agenda.

Jokowi walks the talk, mingling comfortably with people from all walks of life, but the Malaysian prime minister is likely to show his face in the comfort of a brand new Toyota Alphard.

There is no need to debate whether Malaysia is a failed state. Since there was no functioning government during the floods, the people were rescued by the various NGOs and citizen groups who rallied quickly to organise rescue missions and who provided food and shelter almost immediately.

The Malaysian government was replaced by the people who took over the role and function of those they elected.

In the British parliament everyone is held accountable. Even the prime minister’s Christmas party is being called into question.

In Malaysia, however, a “tidak apa” attitude is prevalent. We reward convicts instead of shunning them, and make them national heroes. That’s Malaysia for you, a disjointed country without any moral compass.

While the people in Indonesia and Philippines want Jokowi and Duterte to stay on to bring about much-needed reforms, Malaysians just can’t wait to get rid of their prime minister and the bloated Cabinet.

Malaysians have been taken for a ride in 2021. Two successive backdoor governments took turns to run the country, creating the biggest cabinet in the world to make their band of misfits happy.

2022 will be another turbulent year with the Omicron virus spreading rapidly and closing down many economies once more. The pandemic and natural disasters have created a double whammy for vulnerable Malaysians, on top of two years of lockdowns.

With no one in charge, we will be in for a hell of a roller coaster ride.