LETTER | Emergency could be the last resort

LETTER | Before the King decided that an emergency need not be imposed, many were commenting that there was a possibility of an emergency being imposed considering that the prime minister had few other options.

The Covid-19 spike is now exponential, and the political situation is unstable, both of which could trigger the emergency. Many democratic countries have imposed an emergency just to cope with the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, and the latest being Spain.

Countries with more deeply entrenched democratic traditions and practices have opted for emergency. Only in Malaysia, it has become overly politicised by some politicians and supporters. In Malaysia, the pandemic is compounded by the polemics that have become the order of the day.

In fact, based on hindsight, it would have been better if the emergency had been imposed earlier to stop the Sabah state assembly elections. Sarawak is going to face the same in April 2021. Only an emergency could stop these two elections.

Many countries have imposed an emergency at the beginning of the pandemic as a preventive measure. Malaysia too should have done the same.

The Sabah elections have triggered a new deadly wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and figures have risen to an extent not seen even during the lock-down from March to June. Malaysians who were more considerate and careful during the lock-down are not so now, and some are openly defiant against government restrictions.

The prime minister is now having a thankless task of coping with the political instability which has also hampered Covid-19 preventive programs and socio-economic well being. Both political instability and socio-economic progress have hit rock bottom unlike as any time before in our history.

What the government needs is unity, peace and harmony to do what it wants for the country. How can this be done when Anwar Ibrahim says that the government has collapsed; Dr Mahathir Mohamed wants to be PM for the third time, and Tengku Razaleigh wants to fish in the troubled political waters.

And then there is the deadly friendly fire by the PM's own supporters who are facing corruption charges and dissatisfied with the PM not caring about their cases. Under these circumstances, how can any PM ensure a proper administration?

How many votes of confidence are needed to ensure legitimacy of the government? There was one before, and the PM managed to secure his government. Must there be votes of confidence every four months, especially during these times of hardship?

The 2021 budget is of paramount importance to the people and delaying or frustrating it could have severe repercussions for the economy. Votes of confidence are one of the most destructive features of democracy.

The present situation is reminiscent of the 1948 emergency imposed by the British to control political instability and disruption of socio-economic activities. Now there is an addition of a serious health pandemic in the country.

As former attorney-general Tommy Thomas has said in his recent article entitled "Declaring emergency would be unconstitutional", it will be better for a unity government to overcome the impasse in order to prevent the imposition of an emergency.

This is a more rational and sensible way for the parliamentarians, politicians and the people who are concerned about the country and its democratic process.

Will politicians rise to the occasion now that the King has decided against the emergency? If things get worse, the issue of imposing an emergency will be brought up again.

Political instability is a greater danger than the pandemic.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.