Malaysia critically needs action and consistent, decisive, credible leadership to handle the present peak of the pandemic. Instead, there has been paralysis, incompetence and chaos, as anyone viewing the crowded scenes outside ‘walk-in vaccination centres’ is bitterly aware.

After months of lecturing critics for ‘politicking’ and for not prioritising the problems facing the country, the PN hierarchy is clearly interested and capable only in planning new ways to delay stepping aside to allow others to unite efforts where they have failed.

So it was that the day ended after yet another PN meeting, which followed a Cabinet meeting that followed Mahiaddin’s meeting with the Agong without a single statement of intent. PN cannot decide what to do except to hang on as long as possible in the hope of ‘regaining’ support it never really had.

The continued silence means there has been no indication whether the PM plans to obey the King’s demand (believed to have been issued in letter form this week) to recall Parliament. No word on if he plans to resign.

Apparently, at some point the prime minister had wisely opted to salvage some dignity by doing so in the light of his now dismal support amongst MPs and fury in the country. However, his desperate side-kicks who have nowhere else to go persuaded him to continue to buy time by doing nothing – time to play the same old games of bribery, bullying and blackmail to retain power.

Thus the day ended once more with no comment, no progress, nothing done and more death and frustration in the country.

Perhaps the most shocking item of information leaked from these endless deliberations was that the prime minister has seriously considered the option of seeking to dissolve Parliament and force an election in some vain hope he could win or manipulate a successful outcome.

This in a week when Covid infections have reached record highs and just after he had used this very same crisis as an excuse to suspend Parliament yet again and to issue an emergency order to delay the Sarawak state election beyond the constitutional limit to prevent infection.

How can he resort to emergency laws to ban one election and then call another that is totally unnecessary? Perhaps the planned SOPs for this uncalled for general election would include banning unvaccinated voters.  Who would be surprised?

The crass self contradiction and hypocrisy of this government has equally been reflected in the unfettered politicking and the endless gatherings that have been allowed for these minority government schemers, whilst others are being selectively harried and harassed for trying to meet and perform their duties.

Equally bizarre and illogical have been the latest decisions, issued by the prime minister himself, to curry favour with the exasperated population by suddenly relaxing control orders. This despite the current record spike in infections, hospitalisations and deaths.

Indeed, as anyone can see, Mahiaddin’s management of the Covid crisis in Malaysia has never had the slightest connection to the well-being of the population. It has only been driven by political convenience, opportunities to make money and above all to help him stay in power.

When he first slapped a State of Emergency past the compliant King it was in order to shut down Parliament which was on the point of booting him out. Since that crackdown cases of Covid have rocketed thanks to his unfettered mismanagement of the situation, including the crony-based exceptions to the tough control orders that made life unbearable for everyone else.

The vaccination roll-out meanwhile sank into chaos, thanks largely to the incompetence of incapable people placed in charge for political convenience rather than on merit.

The truth of the situation has become the subject of global comment and open observation by the international media, the latest devastating assessment coming from The Economist this week which headlined “Malaysia’s politics are rotten from the top – Ordinary Malaysians suffer from the machinations of their politicians” to describe the country’s present pass.

Parliament has been shut and silenced for months, precluding any attempt at bringing national unity to the anti-virus efforts. Mahiaddin and his bought up army of Chiefs with no Indians have resisted all collaboration, accountability or scrutiny over their vast spending of public funds and emergency edicts, which have clamped down on much of the economy and made the lives of ordinary people intolerable.

Whilst opposition MPs have been banned from gathering and ordinary people faced with cruel fines for breaking SOPs to try to earn their rice the PN warlords have travelled to and fro, meeting endlessly at the Prime Minister’s new seat of governance (his house) issuing exemptions for their cronies to run their factories and

Symbolising the cynical and selfish attitudes of these lawless lawmakers have been the scenes at rural vaccination centres in Sarawak which the ruling parties have turned into part of their surreptitious campaigning – sending state government friendly politicians up on site to claim credit for vaccines they have not provided whilst banning the opposition from moving outside their immediate areas.

Every day that passes with these selfish limpets clinging on to office is now a day wasted for the people of Malaysia.