"Political ceasefire" is a telling phrase. It tells on the politicians who are behind it. Those who announced the ceasefire and those who should but didn't.
To think politics is a "war" game is to care little for the people who are putting up a great fight against a dastardly pandemic. Look at the numbers. There was a time when we, as a nation, brought the numbers of the infected to a single digit.
We even harboured the thought of bringing it to a naught.
But politics of the vile kind hampered that hope. Now we are back on the threatening track of three-digit infections. And the death rate is climbing. On some days, there are more than a couple.
The New Straits Times cover picture yesterday said it all: emotions of frontliners oscillating between duty, danger and despair. Doctors, nurses, armed forces personnel, men and women in uniform and many others are selflessly giving their all to keep the coronavirus at bay, even at the expense of their health and lives.
We ask bickering politicians: why can't they give half as much? We do not see them slumped, like our frontliners, exhausted after their service to the nation. Or, at the very least, leave home without your politicking. It may be this or that cabinet seat for some stripes of politicians, but for the people, it is the lives of their loved ones. And their livelihood, too.
A certain kind of politics may attract selfish "warmongering" men and women — yes, there are women, too — but it has no place in the hearts and minds of the people. We want politicians to take us forward, not leave us behind.
Political bickering and associated manoeuvring sap the energy of a nation, energy that will be better spent fighting the pandemic. Some politicians are minded to call for a general election, though the 15th General Election is not due for another three years.
Remember, the path to Putrajaya isn't always a yellow brick road. The Sabah state election and its Covid-19 fallout should serve as a reminder of the danger of rallies and mass movements during the pandemic.
Some think we have learned enough to not repeat the mistake. We say this to them: it is insane to do the same thing and expect a different result. Imagine 14 million people — the number of eligible voters in the 14th General Election — on the move to rallies and voting centres. You get the scale of possible infections.
We have not even counted the number of Malaysians who have become eligible to vote since the 2018 election. The number may be closer to 20 million. With just one state election, we have a daily infection rate of between 700 and 800. A national election during the pandemic will surely make the daily infections surge to thousands, if not tens of thousands, crippling our healthcare system that is already under great strain. Looking at numbers is fine, but do look at the numbers that count. It is not the seats nor the cabinet positions that need looking at.
It is the R-naught and everything else that help us flatten the Covid-19 curve. We have a piece of advice for our bickering politicians: leave home without your politicking.