ONE month into the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration, the performance of its cabinet members has been overshadowed by the civil service as the country races to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

Analysts and political observers said the cabinet’s missteps in implementing the movement control order (MCO) have been corrected by competent senior civil servants who took the reins in enforcing the lockdown.

Some of PN leaders have been criticised for allegedly using the crisis to fish for support. 

The MCO was imposed on March 18 to halt the transmission of Covid-19 which to-date has infected 2,766 people and killed 43.

The MCO was imposed barely two weeks after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin assumed office after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government.

The civil service, especially healthcare frontliners and law enforcement authorities, have collectively overcome the cabinet’s weaknesses, said Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) senior lecturer Mohamad Tawfik Yaakub.

Examples of mistakes by the cabinet included the chaotic early instructions of the MCO and Health Minister Dr Adham Baba’s controversial advice to “drink warm water to help kill the virus”. 

“After that controversial episode, Adham has retreated into the background and allowed Health Ministry Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah to conduct the daily updates on the pandemic,” said Tawfik.  

He added that the Communications and Multimedia Ministry did not play its role to spread awareness of the deadliness of the virus and why a partial lockdown of the country was important.

The communications ministry did not act aggressively enough to highlight the dangers of the virus and the airwaves were still filled with entertainment programmes.”

Another UUM lecturer Azizuddin Sani said the MCO has made it difficult for the other cabinet members to reveal their new policies and they have been relegated to assisting on issues surrounding the MCO.

“We see the prime minister being active especially with the stimulus packages and an economic strategy to deal with the recession as a result of the coronavirus.”  

However, much of the public has suspended their assessment of the cabinet as they are more worried about day-day concerns such as staying healthy and enough to eat during the MCO.

This is because for many B40 families, the MCO has meant a loss income due to a shutdown in their daily micro businesses or after being put on unpaid leave by their employers.

“But I think many are receptive towards the new ministers because many of them seem to have experience in administration. Maybe because they seem different than the Pakatan Harapan ministers, the people are more confident in them,” said Azizuddin.

However Wan Ji Wan Hussin of the Saudara Socio-cultural Research think-tank argues that much of the social media chatter has been negative towards the new ministers.

Wan Ji referred to housing minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, who was lampooned by social media users for donning a white sanitation suit to try her hand at spraying disinfectant in Kuala Lumpur.

She became the target of jokes as her white suit was distinguished from the others by a large tag on the forehead which said: “minister”.

Her attempt to set herself apart from the other sanitation officers was seen as a political stunt by her critics.

“Her stunt was also criticised by other health professionals as it seemed to divert resources from the fight against the coronovirus,” said Wan Ji. – April 1, 2020.