By Mariam Mokhtar

The coronavirus is a pandemic but, in
Malaysia, some politicians cannot resist playing partisan politics,
at a time, when Malaysians, regardless of political affiliations,
race, religion, and social class, should unite.

On Tuesday morning, a meeting was
arranged by Muhyiddin Yassin, to prepare for Wednesday's enforced
movement of people, to contain the spread of coronavirus; however,
leaders of Harapan led states were excluded. Why?

It was reported that the menteri besars
(MB) / chief ministers (CM) of the Pakatan-held states of Negeri
Sembilan, Selangor, Kedah, Penang and Sabah had not been invited.
Only leaders of Perikatan Nasional (PN) states were present.

Muhyiddin claimed in his first national
broadcast that he was the Prime minister for all Malaysians, but his
actions prove otherwise. His selective, PN-members-only meeting,
shows his insincerity.

Selangor has the most cases of
coronavirus, but the MB, Amirudin Shari, was not invited to attend.
Amirudin regretted Putrajaya's action in excluding Selangor, because "lives were at stake".

Kedah's Mukhriz Mahathir expressed
shock and wondered if Putrajaya thought that Kedah was immune from
coronavirus.

Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow was
surprised to learn that Harapan MBs and CMs had not been invited. The
MB of Negeri Sembilan, Aminudin Harun and Sabah CM Shafie Apdal said
they too had not received invitations.

For any policy to work well, there must
be full cooperation and coordination between the states and
Putrajaya.

The five states which were excluded
comprise 40% of the Malaysian population and a significant number of
coronavirus cases originate in these states.

When the news about the selective
PN-members-only meeting went viral, the rakyat reacted with fury.

They were more shocked when the Chief
Secretary to the Government, Zuki Ali, suddenly accepted
responsibility for the fiasco and claimed that Muhyiddin was not
responsible.

He said that Muhyiddin was serious
about the matter and wanted cooperation from all the state
governments, irrespective of their political leanings.

Well, both Zuki and Muhyiddin would say
that, wouldn't they?

So, is there anything in the minutes of
the meeting to record that Muhyiddin wanted the Harapan leaders to be
present? Did he admonish his Chief Secretary during the meeting, and
is this in the minutes?

Zuki claimed that Muhyiddin was not
involved in issuing the invitation, but three questions arise.

First. Did Zuki offer to be the fall
guy for his boss and save his face? Why?

His actions remind Malaysians of the
former bad days of Umno-Baru/BN, where leaders who make mistakes
refuse to admit responsibility for their actions, and civil servants
were often accused.

Second. Did Zuki act on his own
volition, when he failed to invite the Harapan leaders to the
meeting? If he did this, then he does not have the maturity and
professionalism to be the Chief Secretary to the Government.

Civil servants should rise above
politics and not be partisan. Zuki allowed politics to get in the way
of a national emergency.

An apology is not enough. He should
resign or be sacked.

Third. When Zuki was asked to invite
the leaders to this coronavirus meeting, and realized that Muhyiddin
had failed to extend the invitation to the Harapan leaders, he should
have used some initiative, and extended the invitation to all of the
interested parties.

An able and competent Chief Secretary
to the Government, would have used his better judgment and common
sense, to advise Muhyiddin that this was a matter of national
interest and that all the leaders, irrespective of their political
leanings, should attend. Zuki clearly failed to do this.

The selective PN-members-only meeting
has shown Muhyiddin's lack of leadership and Zuki's incompetence.

The other mistake was the lack of
proper planning and well thought-out policies, including offering
financial and economic help, in Muhyiddin's administration's hastily
prepared restriction on movement.

The manner in which Muhyiddin's
announcements came in dribs and drabs, have scared people into mass
panic and confusion.

Instead of controlling the spread of
coronavirus, people are helping to increase the risk of the spread of
the disease. The following are examples:-

Students were allegedly turfed out of
their hostels before finalizing transport to return home.

Parents with children in boarding
schools, rushed to collect their offspring.

People headed for the countryside to
escape being confined in the cities, and transport hubs were
overwhelmed.

The demand for police permits to move
between states created massive queues outside police stations (this
ill thought-out move has been rescinded).

People panicked into hoarding food and
certain items, causing chaos at supermarkets.

Can social welfare services assist
people who live on their own, such as the elderly and infirm, whose
children work in the cities?

Millions of unregistered migrant
workers will be reluctant to seek help if they are struck down with
coronavirus. What is the government's directive?

Muhyiddin and Zaki have failed the
nation and both should tender their resignation.

Source:

1. MalaysiaKini: Five pro-Harapan
states excluded from PM's COVID-19 meeting

2. MalaysiaKini: M'sia records 190 new COVID-19 cases
in a day, total now at 428

3. Free Malaysia Today: Sorry, my
mistake, says chief-sec over COVID-19 slip-up

4. MalaysiaKini: Klang Valley exodus
threatens containment plan, warn experts

5. Malay Mail: COVID-19: Khalid Samad
questions if govt studied financial implications of shutdown on lower
income groups

6. MalaysiaKini: Najib slams Putrajaya
for shunning 'opposition states'

7. Malay Mail: Report: Police back down
on decision to introduce interstate travel restrictions, say
Malaysians can travel freely tonight

8. MalaysiaKini: COVID-19 in Malaysia

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)