WHAT a roller-coaster ride. The politics that played out over the past week is unparalleled in the country’s history, in terms of quantity and pace.

The quality, though, depends on what one looks for in politics. If it’s deception, misdirection and guile, textbooks will be written about it. If it’s honour, dignity and a desire to serve the nation, you will find little comfort in the process or outcome.

What appears to be a series of miscommunication – as tragic as it is comedic – and flip-flops caused the collapse of a government with so much promise when it wasn’t even two years old. What went wrong will be a topic of discussion and debate for months to come. After the federal government fell, other state administrations looked set to topple like dominoes. Pakatan Harapan has already lost Johor and Malacca, while Perak has yet to declare a change.

The people’s mandate is the ultimate loss. The bigger question now is, has the roller-coaster ride stopped?

The newly minted prime minister has yet to prove his majority support to the people. The numbers presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was based on the assumption that Muhyiddin Yassin had the unwavering backing of his entire party – which has proven to be untrue. Also, there were shifts at the eleventh hour.

No one can fault the palace – one would have to be mad to do so – as every MP had the chance to name a candidate. Assuming, for once, that politicians can be trusted, and that everyone voted as they said they would, PH, PAS and Umno lawmakers changed their position almost immediately after.

Protracted politicking is bad for the country at any time, but as the Covid-19 outbreak spreads rapidly around the globe, dealing another blow to a world economy already grappling with the US-China trade war and growing market pessimism, it is imperative for the focus to be on the economy, and Malaysians’ health and well-being.

PH is to be commended for not pursuing the street protests that shaped the identities of most of its components – at least for now. It would’ve only added to the lethargy and cranked up the temperature.

With a new prime minister in place, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PH have little access to the government machinery. At this point, PH does not have a firm central figure – something that Muafakat Nasional worked out early on and took advantage of by having one of their own fast enough for Bersatu to rally around, ending the political impasse the way it did.

It is apparent that Anwar Ibrahim does not enjoy the mass support he once did, given he was unable to pull in the MPs needed to form a government, or credibly has the much-needed backing of Sabah and Sarawak. Dr Mahathir, too, doesn’t command such support on his own. However, the former prime minister is a more widely accepted leader, given his statesman status and track record.

PH must once and for all decide if it is going to throw its support behind Dr Mahathir, or Anwar, or someone else. In the next few crucial weeks, this will be the face of the leadership and rallying point for the former ruling pact. PH is also running out of options, with the clearest and most promising one being a vote of no confidence in Parliament.

The dust hasn’t quite settled. Muhyiddin now needs to survive two major hurdles: maintain the support of his allies through the cabinet-naming process, and pass his first session in Parliament as prime minister. Unless, of course, Dr Mahathir concedes clearly (sans the sarcasm) to him.

Till then, the congratulatory messages will trickle in as non-partisan political players carefully choose sides in a showdown that has yet to conclude. – March 4, 2020.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.