EVER since Perikatan Nasional came to power backdoor style, it has been no secret that its administration is nothing short of an ugly mess.

In keyboard speak, Muhyiddin Yassin’s hurriedly cobbled-together government has been very fond of hitting the “backspace”, “delete” and “escape” buttons, along with starting the trend of fiercely bashing each other online.

Let’s start with PN’s lack of proper coordination or communication between the ministries. The right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing, and the left hand itself probably doesn’t know what it’s doing either.

With each ministry liberally issuing its own directives or guidelines without prior planning with others, the resultant inconsistencies have further disrupted the lives of ordinary Malaysians during the movement-control order period.

Not to mention, PN itself has been mostly stuck in reactionary mode. In many instances, ministers and government departments have been forced to retract their statements or U-turn on decisions following flak from the public and Pakatan Harapan MPs.

However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A mere breakdown in communication and lack of coordination in and of themselves can easily be overcome if there’s real political will and a shared vision. Alas, the only vision PN shares – and a questionable one at that – was bringing down PH, no matter what it took.

Now that PN’s vengeance has been meted, there is nothing left that binds the pact together, nothing else for it to work towards. Without common goals or values that aren’t built on shady motives and ill intentions, how can PN hope to govern an entire nation, let alone govern well?

While PH may not have been the most cohesive coalition, it was due to reasons wholly different from the divisions in PN.

Pakatan Rakyat was formed in 2008 not because it was “gila kuasa” and could no longer deal with being the opposition. It came together for a higher goal: to stamp out the shameless corruption and blatant abuse of power that had plagued our political culture for decades.

Furthermore, instead of actually leading the country out of the Covid-19 crisis, as what all responsible governments should do, PN lawmakers are too busy attacking each other and jostling for power.

Have you seen how busy they’ve been, bashing their “rakan seperjuangan” both in traditional and social media? How about them throwing their weight around in their insatiable greed for more power and positions?

Many MPs, and even ministers, from the different PN parties have shown zero attempt at forging constructive cooperation or establishing a mutual understanding, simply because they have absolutely no desire to actually work together.

In fact, the very idea of real “muafakat” is so repulsive to its largest component, Umno, that it has taken pains to consistently drive home the point that Umno will never be part of PN, ever. Such behaviour is truly hypocritical, considering that PN has been selling itself hard as a “Malay-first” coalition bent on advancing Malay interests.

Let this be clear: politicking is not governing, and aimless, haphazard governance is one we can do without. Muhyiddin’s government is certainly not one we’ve elected. Just like how we voted out Barisan Nasional in 2018, once again, we will vote out “BN 2.0” come the 15th general election.

The greatest mistake PN can make is mistaking Malaysians for fools who can be trampled on. – May 10, 2020.

* Lara Ling reads The Malaysian Insight.

* 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.