IT is unfortunate that Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya have to go through a conditional movement-control order (CMCO) effective October 14.

While many countries have failed to contain the virus due to their failure to detect early on, failure to comply to procedures, or early opening up of their country after the initial lockdown, without understanding the impact and exponential characteristics of the virus, Malaysia had done all the right things in containing the virus at the beginning but ultimately succumbed to the weakness of power politics, resulting in the resurgence of Covid-19.

The very act of trying to create a back-door government in Sabah and by doing so triggering an election could have been avoided if the common good was the principle of the Muhyiddin government. How could one honestly plot a power grab in Sabah when Covid-19 was spreading fast in that state? What was important for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Sabah BN politicians was to consolidate power at the expense of the rakyat. Merely ranting after the effects and pinpointing certain officials for not following procedures is a lame excuse.

It is also unfortunate that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who has a great ambition to become prime minister, is also indulging in power politics when what is needed in the current context is consensus to rein in this pandemic that has created much damage to the economy.

What makes things worse is the failure of the elite within the Muhyiddin government to adhere to Covid-19 prevention procedures while demanding such adherence among the rakyat. This has basically dented the credibility of the Perikatan government.

Therefore, it’s time that Prime Minister Muhyiddin initiate a political ceasefire and reduce his unethical quest for politics of power and start a dialogue with the opposition on how to work together to rein in the spread of Covid-19.

The common good of the nation requires less power politics and more substantive consensus to move the nation forward to confront an existential threat. The service for common good should be the core principle that inspires political behaviour among politicians. It is unfortunate that unethical power politics seems to have contributed to the resurgence of the Covid-19 virus in Malaysia. – October 13, 2020.

* Ronald Benjamin 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.