AUGUST 5 ― Politics in Malaysia has to be one of the most exciting in the world. It could potentially be made into a Netflix series should any production house be interested. Many Malaysians feel the same way, but would express it with a tinge of sadness under their breaths.

In May 2018, after 61 years under a single coalition rule, Malaysians had hopes for a fresh start — Malaysia Baru or New Malaysia — following a historic general election that brought ideologically-opposed forces together in the form of Pakatan Harapan (PH) to bring down a scandal-tainted Barisan Nasional government led by Najib Razak.

Unfortunately, in the quest for authority and power, cracks within the PH coalition became more evident from the premiership succession tussle between Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim, who were former allies-turned-foes-turned-allies-turned-foes again.

This led to a number of extended proxy battles and negotiations that took place within their own PH coalition and externally with Umno and PAS.

This eventually led to the fateful Sheraton Move in February 2020 where backdoor negotiations led to the creation of a Malay-Muslim agenda-driven coalition in the form of Perikatan Nasional (PN) led by a new Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. It left out a fuming Mahathir who did not join the new coalition claiming he could not embrace corrupt leaders like Umno’s Najib Razak and Zahid Hamidi.

Before the dust could settle from this sudden change in leadership, Malaysia suffered the first major wave of the Covid-19 virus outbreak that led to the imposition of the first movement control order (MCO) on March 18, 2020. At the time, a total of 790 people had been infected with two dying from the deadly virus.

The rollout of the various forms of MCOs and stimulus packages such as Prihatin became central in the fight against the pandemic’s consequences on public health and the economy. By June 2020, Malaysia was seen as a model country as it managed to bring daily infections down to single digit figures and the fatality rate being only at 1.42 per cent. 

It seemed at the time that Malaysians were able to have some normalcy again in their daily lives. Muhyiddin, PN and director-general of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah were lauded for leading the country’s success against the pandemic.

However, that did not last long. A few months later, another political drama ensued, this time involving the fate of the Sabah state government led by Shafie Apdal’s Warisan party, who were part of the federal Opposition. A state election was called and subsequently won by a local coalition aligned to PN, but it came with collateral damage.

The travels made by politicians and their motley crew of advisers and operators, and the lack of stringent standard operating procedures (SOPs) including post-travel quarantine, sparked a new outbreak of Covid-19 cases that pushed the country’s healthcare system back to the brink again.

However, the PN government resolved to not resort to further lockdowns akin to the first MCO for fears of crushing an already flailing economic recovery.

This continuous debate between lives and livelihoods, alongside continued political horse trading, became major themes in the months to come. It reached a crescendo when the government initially failed but subsequently succeeded in declaring a state of Emergency upon the whole country that was meant to last up to August 1, 2021.

It suspended Parliamentary proceedings and expanded executive powers which were used to, among others, introduce Emergency Ordinances that created and increased punitive measures against SOP rulebreakers and purveyors of fake news.

The prime minister claimed that the Emergency was needed to bring down the rate of infection but critics said it was a political scheme to remain as prime minister as his majority in Parliament had been called into question days before the state of Emergency was declared.

During this Emergency period, the number of Covid-19 positive cases went up dramatically as the public suffered lockdown fatigue and lost faith in a government that looked like they had lost the plot.

As the country grew restless against poorly-communicated and -co-ordinated lockdowns and SOPs, the King and the Conference of Rulers issued an unprecedented statement that called specifically for Parliament to reconvene as soon as possible.

The government relented and allowed the legislature to reconvene, but only for five days for the lower house (Dewan Rakyat) and three days for the Senate.

As the deadline for the Emergency to cease loomed and fears of a vote exposing the prime minister's lack of a majority in Parliament heightened, the de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan announced abruptly in Parliament that all Emergency Ordinances had been revoked — to the surprise of Opposition parliamentarians who were expecting the ordinances to be laid before the Dewan Rakyat.

The Palace subsequently issued a statement that expressed the King’s displeasure at the contradictory remarks of Takiyuddin in Parliament. Another letter linked to the Palace claimed that the King had yet to consent to the revocation of the Emergency proclamation. The Prime Minister’s Office has since remarked that the King’s consent was not needed as he needed to act based on the advice of the Cabinet.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin delivers his statement on the National Recovery Plan during a special Parliament sitting in Kuala Lumpur July 26, 2021. — Bernama pic

Malaysia today is stuck in a perfect storm of a brewing Constitutional crisis amid a prolonged public health setback. To make matters worse, the economy is in free-fall due to constant policy flip-flops that have caused firms — especially micro and small-and-medium enterprises (MSMEs and SMEs) — to shut, employees losing their jobs, and investors relocating their businesses and investments elsewhere.

The government’s ignorance to the grouses and struggles of the people to make ends meet forced Malaysians to band together through various initiatives such as the White Flag movement to help the needy survive amid the indefinite nationwide lockdown. Contract doctors also expressed their frustrations through various online campaigns calling for the government to provide better job security. A recent youth-led street protest against the government despite SOPs banning public gatherings is an indication of growing public unrest towards an unelected government that is losing credibility.

The current silver lining in the government's playbook is the increasing vaccination rates. As of July 31, 2021, 43.2 per cent of the population have received at least one vaccine dose while 21 per cent are fully vaccinated. Operation Surge Capacity has led to 90.3 per cent of Klang Valley residents receiving at least one dose.

At least from a public health perspective, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel thanks to the speedy vaccination rollouts by healthcare professionals and the civil service. The political drama, however, continues.

* Ryan Chua and Chai Duwei are Malaysians based in Singapore who look into current affairs and public policy.