Strained session: The five-day special meeting to discuss Covid-19 degenerated into a debate over the legitimacy of revoking the Emergency laws.

Politics can take a back seat while we head for herd immunity and restore our economy.

FORMER British Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously coined the phrase “a week is a long time in politics.” Given what has happened in Malaysia, a month could be an eternity.

Much can happen over the next 30 days ahead of the Parliament meeting next month as it will allow Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to buy time and make strategic manoeuvres.

The PM is now short of 11 Members of Parliament after Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed he and his contingent had signed statutory declarations to withdraw support for Muhyiddin.

Malaysians by now are aware that SDs are worth nothing more than the paper they’re written on. The King even had to personally ask these lawmakers about their position as they’re known to have signed letters of allegiance to whomever they wish to place their bets on. In their case, that’s more than one.

There aren’t many true “honourable” MPs. If you think otherwise, then you must be a fanatical political groupie, or you’re just naïve because politicians change their tune all the time.

It’s clear Muhyiddin needs to shore up his support in the next 30 days to win the vote of confidence at the Dewan Rakyat.

Call it horse trading if you want, but that’s how it works. The PM isn’t the only one because the Opposition is just as guilty.

In September last year, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed he had obtained “strong, formidable and convincing” support from MPs to form a government and announced that Muhyiddin’s government had collapsed.

By October, he managed to get an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and supposedly handed over documents he claimed to indicate he had parliamentary support. But His Majesty wasn’t convinced, and neither were most Malaysians.

Last week, Anwar repeated that rhetoric of having the numbers. He has always been busy trying to get MPs to cross over to his side. The appropriate word is defection but for Malaysians, it’s frogging.

Let’s also not forget that Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal only managed to form his Sabah state government in the 2018 elections after he got Barisan Nasional state assemblymen to defect.

BN won 29 seats and Warisan Plus had the same number, but BN had support from Sabah Star party. Two days later, the BN government collapsed because Shafie managed to persuade two Upko and four Umno state assemblymen to take a “leap of faith.”

So, all our prominent political leaders are guilty, at some point or another, of getting elected representatives to be frogs.

Even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad encouraged defections from Umno to Bersatu, until he lost his leadership in Bersatu.

Defectors included Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee, who all hopped into Bersatu. In fact, 15 Umno MPs defected, and so, Umno is well justified to be upset with Bersatu.

Incredibly, some of us who are furiously sending texts deploring possible defections, were the same people who cheered when Umno MPs joined Bersatu under the Pakatan Harapan government because it suited our political beliefs then.

But the worst defection exercise was in 1994, when BN, under Dr Mahathir and his then deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, toppled Joseph Pairin Kitingan’s PBS Sabah state government.

PBS won 25 seats and BN 23 out of 48 seats. Pairin waited for 36 hours outside the Istana gate to eventually be sworn in.

I was there as a reporter witnessing the event, but his government collapsed when BN managed to get two PBS representatives to cross, and soon, more joined when the PBS government collapsed.

None of our politicians are wholesome enough to talk about defections, but incredibly, they now do it with straight faces. That’s because they forget or want to forget to embrace their political allegiance.

Some look the other way because their partners are engaged in the amphibious exercise, yet they eloquently deride frogging in public.

Now, we hear lawmakers from both sides claiming they are getting calls to jump. Last week, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda) and Puncak Borneo MP Datuk Willie Mongin (Bersatu), revealed that they were being wooed.

The only way to stop these defections is to have an anti-hopping law. However, we know why our politicians only talk about it and not act on it because they know defections ultimately help their cause.

Fast forward to 2021, and we’re back to the same charade. The five-day special meeting to discuss Covid-19 degenerated into a debate over the legitimacy of revoking the Emergency laws.

Fighting Covid-19, suggesting ways to overcome the pandemic and putting Malaysia on track again clearly wasn’t the agenda of the lawmakers, although younger MPs including Khairy Jamaluddin, Ong Kian Meng, Nurul Izzah and Fahmi Fadzil displayed logic and even bipartisanship in their presentations.

It didn’t help that law minister Takiyuddin Hassan dropped the bombshell that the Emergency had ended, which caught everyone by surprise. His seemingly casual revelation was deservedly condemned.

Even His Majesty expressed great disappointment and demanded a debate on the matter, only for Parliament to end abruptly and be slated to reconvene next month.

But Ahmad Zahid has yanked the rug from beneath Muhyiddin’s feet and cornered him at a cliff, where he’s precariously perched. Without the 11 Umno MPs, and with possibly even more exiting, the PM must pull a rabbit out of the hat to get to safer ground.

He needs new political arrangements because none of the political factions can form a government on their own.

While the Opposition wants the PM to go, its choice of PM is a tricky proposition because the factions don’t trust each other.

It’s also clear that the Kluster Mahkamah (the MPs facing corruption charges) has failed to persuade the PM to let them off the hook, so they must now topple the existing government to save themselves from the slammer.

The endgame for them is to form a new federal government themselves and get the charges dropped, or make an electoral pact with other opposition parties, likely with the same conditions.

Have any of our political leaders publicly pledged to see these corruption charges through without political interference under their administration?

Or would they also drop these charges once they come into power, since they’re all purportedly political persecutions?

Past attorneys general have appeared to readily play the compromising game, although they like to portray themselves as men of high principles and integrity.

After all, they were appointed by the PM, so the perception is that they are indebted to their masters.

Corruption cases have been mysteriously dropped whenever new governments are formed, especially when it involves top ruling leaders.

Our priorities are all wrong. Why should we even care about these politicians when thousands of us are getting infected, hundreds dying, hospitals running out of beds, and thousands losing their jobs, income and businesses?

Muhyiddin isn’t a popular PM right now. There is tremendous resentment towards him, and Dr Mahathir is probably hated even more, except he doesn’t really care about public opinion because he likes to think Malaysia can’t do without him.

But let the PM finish the job. After all, Khairy is also handling the task well in getting Malaysians vaccinated. Let’s give credit where it’s due since vaccination goals are likely to be realised.

Of course, a few from Muhyiddin’s bloated Cabinet have let us down and even embarrassed us.

But let them do the job for the time being. These scheming politicians can fight all they want once we achieve herd immunity by the end of the year and instal the national recovery plan.

Please don’t get Malaysians killed by demanding Parliament be dissolved and a general election held soon. It won’t be surprising if we’re back to square one with a split result after the GE.

Without doubt, the PM has to earn his mandate from the people and be the legitimate leader in the eyes of Malaysians and the world. He must walk through the front door.

An unstable Malaysia will not draw investments because no one will put money in a country where the PM can change overnight.

For now, we need to work together, regardless of our political beliefs, and keep Malaysia safe. We’re running out of time and need to put the country back on track economically.

It’s better that we put our minds and hearts together for a greater cause than be pseudo constitutional experts.

If our politicians are too busy plotting each other’s downfall, it simply means they’re inept at their responsibilities.

Let’s send a strong message to them because they don’t care if we have food on the table or retain our jobs.

So, let’s win this fight against Covid-19 together as Malaysians and set our priorities right.

#MenangBersama

There are many ways to draw attention, but some politicians only seem to know the trite methods.

THE special five-day sitting of the Dewan Rakyat was meant for Members of Parliament to express their views on how best to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was also an opportunity to hear and grill certain ministers about what they have or haven’t been doing.

The takeaway from those five days indicates that Parliament was overshadowed by other issues. And the uncouth behaviour of some MPs leaves much to be desired.

It’s always the same recalcitrant few whose attention-seeking antics include name calling, shouting, taking aggressive stances and heckling. Perhaps their legion of supporters enjoys such theatrics, or maybe those politicians needed to release some steam since the Dewan Rakyat hadn’t convened for a while.

Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they needed to be loud to gain the attention of the Speaker, who has been accused of being biased and not giving sufficient time for MPs to speak.

They are not alone. There was one senior backbencher who suddenly blurted out something about a “pesta arak” (liquor party) without being able to substantiate his claim. Don’t even talk about the “probok probok” MP.

For many Malaysians who were hoping or naively believing their representatives could speak intelligently on issues relating to managing Covid-19 and how we should prepare to re-open the country, they were stunned to learn how wrong they were.

Many MPs who spoke were more interested in addressing the status of the Emergency laws, which is when Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan threw a curve ball by announcing that they had been revoked.

That blindsided the nation, and given the seriousness of the issue, we’d expect such news to be given greater importance, not delivered so nonchalantly.

The Law Minister’s bombshell provided the opportunity for the Opposition to bang on the subject.

Yes, of course it’s an important Constitutional issue, but by then, the Covid-19 agenda faded away and appeared relegated.

Lawyer MPs were suddenly discussing points of law and provisions of the Constitution, forgetting that while they are lawmakers, the Dewan Rakyat isn’t a courtroom.

Takiyuddin has now found himself in a quagmire because the Yang diPertuan Agong has put on record that he is “greatly disappointed” that the six Emergency Ordinances were rescinded without his consent.

To put it succinctly, the King has said that he has yet to consent to the revocation.

The government’s reply, quoting the Federal Constitution, explained that the Cabinet decided to advise the King to revoke the Emergency Ordinances, and that he must accept its advice as outlined under Article 14 of the Federal Constitution. Basically, the government is saying it has advised the King and that the power remains with the Prime Minister and Cabinet, implying the Cabinet doesn’t need His Majesty’s consent.

As with any interpretation of the law, depending on who you talk to and what you want to believe to suit your political allegiance, it can go either way.

However, the relationship between the government and the Rulers may no longer be the same, at least for the time being.

Worse still, the impression given is that the government is afraid of a debate or insinuating that it has lost its majority.

The strong choice of words used in the King’s statement is almost unprecedented and very unusual. Palace announcements are usually not so direct and blunt.

But even before the press statement was issued, those close to royalty had heard private remarks and comments that feelings had been hurt.

The current standoff hasn’t developed into a Constitutional crisis, although some lawmakers seem to be rooting for it. However, that’s the last thing Malaysia needs now.

I believe our institutions are aware that Malaysia needs to be on track again.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has led to pressing health and economic problems, many countries don’t also have the political jeopardy of an unstable government with a wafer-thin majority.

The present political predicament can’t continue. The government is regarded as a backdoor one because it took an unconventional way of forming.

Never mind if it was Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who opened the door – in a perplexing way – for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to come in, but the reality is that issues of mandate and legitimacy will continue to nag the PM.

The only way is to hold a general election, but certainly not now. Let’s get our act together by expediting vaccinations and achieving herd immunity first.

After that, the politicians can fight as much as they want to. They can kill each other for all we care, but don’t reel the rakyat in to help you get into power or remain there.

Following the Sabah elections débâcle of causing a spike in Covid-19 cases, we don’t want the electorate to be your sacrifice to fulfil your selfish political ambitions. Spare us the drivel of wanting to serve us, please.

But still, let’s give credit where it’s due. While most MPs, especially the alpha egoistic males, were keener to trade barbs in Parliament, a few showed that they could put aside political differences and speak rationally.

Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming, Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah and minister Khairy Jamaluddin certainly provided hope and optimism for many of us who have begun to lose faith in our politicians, especially the ageing ones who still can’t leave the stage.

Ong is currently aiding Khairy in the vaccination programme in Selangor and his bipartisan approach of Opposition and government working together is a good start.

In fact, the government should have adopted this strategy last year, but better late than never.

In an interview, he revealed his role in helping advise the government on opening certain parts of the economy as vaccination keeps more people safe, and exuded confidence in the government’s vaccination programme working well.

As former Treasury secretary- general Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Kassim said, Ong showed he is not interested in demonising anyone and that it’s highly commendable he didn’t play politics at this time of national crisis.

The DAP leader has also taken to social media to correct misinformation about the supply and sale of Sinovac in Malaysia. He also shared his knowledge about factories hit by Covid-19 in Selangor, pointing out that many of the infections transpired at workers’ quarters and not necessarily on factory premises.

Nurul provided good suggestions on how the country can deal with the pandemic and cited examples, saying cases may multiply if the government rashly eases movement restrictions solely based on vaccination coverage.

She noted the emergence of more infectious variants in the country, besides quoting experiences in Britain and Iceland that saw cases spike in recent weeks, despite having vaccinated more than 60% of their populations with at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine.

Khairy has also been commended for his comprehensive presentation, delivered in a confident and assertive manner. He was able to answer every question raised by the MPs later.

But Malaysia is in deep trouble. It’s time for Malaysians, especially the politicians, to stay above politics. There is a time for everything and right now, it’s about saving lives and jobs.

We need to restore confidence among the people and investors. The change must come from the heart of the nation. Malaysians hope our MPs will rise above partisan politics.

AS unbelievable as this sounds, many of us are now in the unenviable position of wondering if our vaccination wasn’t merely blank shots, which reports have intimated.

These are probably isolated incidents, but we certainly have source for concern. There’s a trust deficit in Malaysia, and that’s calling it like it is.

It’s fair to say there’s a general wariness with the government, and these acts of negligence have become associated with alleged corruption and incompetence.

Never mind that the frontliners have administered over 16 million doses and 13 police reports have been lodged so far, because until we get the full story, we really don’t know what has transpired.

But the mood it’s left is foul. In my chat group, friends who had earlier praised the frontliners for their wonderful experiences have changed their tone overnight and become an angry mob.

It’s certainly one of the most trending subjects in social media, and even for those still stuck in the analogue world.

Jokes about Astra Takkena, a reference about Malaysians being injected without the vaccine and those who got empty shots receiving SeeNoVacc, are being shared.

With that said, when I go for my regular medical check-up tomorrow, I’m going to ask my doctor to include a test on my antibodies level, just to be sure I got the right dose of Covid-19 vaccination.

It’s a simple process of measuring the quantity of antibodies in my blood sample. Since I’m going to have my blood sugar level screened, I might as well include this along with the other checks.

Many people are upset because they’re now uncertain. The anxiety generated is by the viral videos, since social media has a way of amplifying issues.

Health Minister Dr Adham Baba has said that affected individuals would be invited to receive their true shots.

“Will be called in for an injection again,” he said on WhatsApp when asked about the issue, as reported by Berita Harian last week.

But Dr Adham isn’t the most popular politician in Malaysia. His serial blundering hasn’t help even though he made perfect sense this time.

His deputy, Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali had earlier explained that fatigued vaccinators could be behind the “blank shot” cases.

The first incident happened on July 17 at a drive-through vaccination centre at the Lapangan Terbang Sungai Petani army camp, meant for armed forces personnel and their family members, according to the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF). Curiously, two more incidents happened on the same day, one each in Kuala Lumpur and Bangi, Selangor.

Police reports have been lodged by those affected in all three incidents.

CITF said the police are investigating the cases and that the public will be kept updated.

“If wrongdoing is found, CITF will not hesitate to terminate the services of the personnel involved and also take action in accordance with the law,” it said.

I’d like to give the benefit of doubt because I find these incidents truly bizarre. The implicated vaccinators must be, well, sadistic, because they were aware of someone recording this with their mobile phone, and yet, they did a bad job, intentional or otherwise.

One would expect an errant person, with intentions of selling the vaccine, to only do this despicable act under the least possible scrutiny. So, this is something I can’t understand.

As much as we appreciate these volunteers’ work, they must also realise that their negligence is criminal. It gives a false sense of security and confidence to the recipients.

It’s even worse that the result of this is the failure to protect these people. Many of us are already waking up to the fact that the vaccines don’t necessarily protect us completely.

I have friends and relatives who have tested positive despite receiving their first, and even second doses. So, can we imagine what it could have been like for those who received a blank jab?

So, the question here is, how many unfortunate Malaysians fall into this category?

It’s only proper, as a matter of principle and accountability, that we’re informed of what happened.

And it won’t be good enough for Malaysians to be merely told that they can get another vaccination if they received a blank injection.

Surely the authorities don’t want to appear to be covering up these slack actions by the vaccinators.

According to my sources, involving one PPC, the vaccinator was reprimanded, and she pleaded negligence, citing long hours and the long queue. I was told most of these nurses work between eight and 10 hours. And sometimes, even to 12 hours and more.

They administer an average of 15 shots per hour, so that would work out to about 120 shots a day at least.

It’s good that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been applied for vaccinators to show recipients their vaccine dosages and the empty vials, which are audited daily.

All personnel administering Covid-19 vaccines must show the filled syringe to recipients before they are injected.

There are bound to be human errors, as with any other jobs. It’s another story, of course, if deceit or malice are involved.

A search on the Internet will reveal instances of blank jabs being accidentally administered around the world. On March 10, the New York Daily News reported many people getting empty shots in central Virginia while a similar incident took place in Norfolk, also in the US, in April, according to 13news.com.

In June, there was an uproar in Bihar, India, when a vaccinator was filmed injecting a blank shot, according to Indian media.

There are many such mishaps in other countries too, but minus the conspiracy theories prevalent in Malaysia.

In February, it was reported that a staff member at the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) had mistakenly injected someone with the equivalent of five doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

This occurred during a vaccination exercise and was due to human error resulting from a lapse in communication among members of the vaccination team, said SNEC. The worker in charge of diluting the vaccine had been called away to attend to other matters before it was done.

On June 14, a 16-year-old boy was wrongly given the first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, though thankfully, his health shouldn’t be threatened.

The mistake was discovered at Kolam Ayer Community Club vaccination centre, when its staff realised the boy was below 18 years old after he was given the shot.

In a joint statement, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that vaccination centre staff should have checked his age during registration, and both apologised for the inconvenience and anxiety caused.

The MOH and police need to conclude their investigations soon and MOH must apologise for the misstep, so we can all move on and let the frontliners continue their work.

Work must be in shifts and maximum working hours observed so that these vaccinators are not overworked.

We shouldn’t let our frontliners work under intense pressure and suspicion. Let’s wrap up the investigations and let the police reveal the findings, so that we can leave this behind us.