EXCEPT for the experience of being vaccinated, nothing else appears to be going right in Malaysia at the moment as we’re experiencing the two pandemics of Covid-19 and stupidity.

Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah believes the emergency declaration and the movement control order 2.0 prevented a higher spike in Covid-19 infections . 

On May 8, Malaysia ranks third behind India and the United States for Covid-19 cases per million population. 

And there have been 1,186 deaths in just over five months of the year against 471 in all of 2020.

All this has led us to MCO 3.0 for selected districts in a few states and the entire federal territory of Kuala Lumpur. Strangely enough, Putrajaya is unaffected by the rise in cases in the Selangor districts surrounding it.

That tells you everything about the haphazard and uncoordinated work done by the government of the day and the civil service, whose workers continue to get their monthly salaries and a bonus to boot for Hari Raya.

The rest of Malaysia are subject to their whims and fancies, orders and regulations made without much scientific data to back them up. Which leaves them poorer in the financial, physical and mental spheres.

Why does the hotspot identification and dynamic engagement (HIDE) system only work for malls and shopping areas? Why does it not cover factories that are generating the most Covid-19 clusters?

Why are economic sectors with few coronavirus clusters not permitted to operate but those with many cases are? 

If the HIDE is to be believed, and MPs have been vaccinated twice, why isn’t parliament allowed to resume for sittings to check and deliberate over the government’s performance in this crisis ?

Also, why are university students who have yet to be inoculated allowed to return home at the risk of spreading the infection in their hometowns?

Which begs the question, are the high Covid-19 numbers in states and territories such as Selangor and Kuala Lumpur most likely due to economic activity, such as manufacturing, which has licence to open at this time, and the slow progress of the vaccination programme that targets health front-liners and older folk?

What about those who go to work? Are Kelantan and Sarawak also seeing more infection cases because people who work in the central cities are allowed to go home in the two states?

After more than a year of the pandemic and its restrictions, most people are following the health procedures and spending their time at home and their money on protective gear. But the numbers are still rising.

That tells you the government is not doing its job. Decisions are not being made rationally or with science evidence to back them up. Sectors are being opened and closed without rhyme or reason.

Those who invested money to trade in Ramadan and Aidil Fitri bazaars are now looking at losses through no fault of their own. Those allowed to re-open restaurants are seeing more red ink than black in their account books. Those who want to exercise have to instead exercise their patience at a fickle government.

The prime minister said last year that his government cares for the people. The 400,000-odd Covid cases,1,657 deaths up to yesterday, shuttered businesses and jobless Malaysians do not reflect the care that he talks about.

This government needs to step up. Or step down. – May 9, 2021.

* Jahabar Sadiq runs The Malaysian Insight.