MP SPEAKS | The refusal of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's cabinet to summon a special Parliament to address Malaysia’s losing-control of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is the height of irresponsibility of a kakistocracy.

It is accompanied by the failure of the government for the last 10 months to launch an “all-of-government” and “whole-of-society” strategy and approach to save lives and livelihoods in the pandemic and to plan for a quick and sustainable post-pandemic economic and national recovery.

The other sins of the Muhyiddin cabinet include the failure to have a hands-on and effective health minister to spearhead the war against Covid-19, as well as the irresponsible attitude and misconduct of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) ministers and leaders who refused to set an example of complying with the SOPs. This has deepened public distrust in the Muhyiddin government despite its reasonably well performance during the second wave of the pandemic.

It is horrifying that in the midst of this “once-a-century” crisis, when all thoughts should be focussed on how to overcome the pandemic with minimum loss of lives and livelihoods, the major party in the ruling coalition is obsessed with holding a general election to recapture power and enable their leaders to escape prisons terms for their kleptocracy...