BESIDES the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 has seen the unfurling of rapid and complex political machinations in the country.

Even before the excitement of entering a new decade wore off, we already saw a covert plot to overthrow the then federal government.

This culminated in what is now known as the “Sheraton move” in February that saw Dr Mahathir Mohamad deposed as the seventh PM and replaced by Muhyiddin Yassin, his one-time ally.

Ever since, Pakatan Harapan has been on a campaign to reclaim Putrajaya.

Instead of focusing on alleviating the people’s plight following the Covid-19 pandemic, our politicians have been distracted by power games that ultimately bring little or no benefit to the nation.

Just look at the Sabah elections triggered by defections of lawmakers. The ensuing bitterly fought campaign saw Covid-19 ravage not just the state but brought about the third wave of the pandemic that has not abated ever since.

In the midst of all these, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he had “strong, formidable, convincing” numbers to be the next prime minister.

The opposition’s half-hearted bid to defeat Budget 2021 in the Dewan Rakyat could also have led to snap polls had the attempt succeeded.

Why do we need snap elections when we are in the throes of the most severe health crisis to hit us in modern times, not to mention the economic turbulence in its wake?

Does the lust for power supersede the wellbeing of the people, whom our politicians have promised to defend and honour? Or is that for show only?

For all the current weaknesses of the current government, it has done a fairly decent job keeping the virus at bay.

Our fatality rate compared with other nations speaks volumes about our track record. No doubt the daily new infection numbers are still in the four-digit range, many of them are linked to clusters involving foreign workers and prisons.

On the economic front, the slew of economic programmes, such as wage subsidy, cash aid and EPF’s i-Sinar have provided a lifeline to many Malaysians, especially those who had lost their jobs or had their incomes slashed following the pandemic.

Despite the availability of the vaccine, in no way are we going back to the pre-coronavirus days by 2021. Vaccination will likely start only at the end of the first quarter next year with a herd immunity achieved at best, by early 2022 due to vaccine shortages.

In other words, expect some form of travel restrictions and business curbs to be in place for the whole of 2021, although they would likely be relaxed towards the year-end.

Until then, the government needs to be allowed to focus wholeheartedly on keeping the virus at bay, as well as keeping the economy afloat. Any unnecessary political distraction will only undo the hard work put in so far.

Let the prime minister and cabinet do their jobs. Keep politics at bay just as our health officials have kept the coronavirus at bay.

Once the situation permits, politicians can continue with politicking and call the general election. Until then, there are more important things for the government to focus on. – December 29, 2020.

* Randhir Singh 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.