LETTERS: Come what may, some politicians, especially opposition members, just could not get rid of the tendency to politicize issues at just about everything, and the deadly Covid-19 pandemic that the people and the country are facing, is no exception.
Of course, old habits die hard. Some of them would go on and on sensationalizing and politicizing issues, finding faults with the government and the authorities. These pedantic fault-finders will continue doing so but without giving any constructive ideas or opinions, simply to score brownie points for their political gimmick and agenda.
They will simply twist and turn, generalizing and fabricating issues just to make them look good and to influence the people, knowing very well that their actions could only provoke the people, making them angry and confused with the government.
DAP lawmaker, Charles Santiago, who is also Klang Member of Parliament, is nit-picking on prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, over a slew of issues, including the government's so-called failure in handling Covid-19 and hate speeches. The prime minister must start acting like one, he wrote, or buck up.
Like others in DAP and Pakatan Harapan (PH) of which DAP is an ally, he surely has a bone to pick with Muhyiddin who became prime minister of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government early last year after PH failed to make the best of its 22 months in power.
PH's collapse and the formation of the PN government surely have left a deep scar in the forms of anguish, frustration and vendetta in the opposition bloc.
Understandably, they would continue making all kinds of unbalanced and incoherent demands, finding faults and hurling a litany of accusations against the present government which to the majority of Malaysians, has done its best to protect their lives and livelihoods and the country in the midst of the ravaging pandemic spread.
Bear in mind that Muhyiddin had to cope with the crushing effect of the pandemic on the people and the economy on the first few months he took office as prime minister.
Nevertheless, in less than a year into office, he had gained the trust of the people, with a series of stimulus packages that he implemented to ease the hardship of those who lost their incomes due to the imposition of travel restrictive measures to flatten the curve of the pandemic.
Since the onset of the pandemic, four economic packages worth more than RM305 billion had been implemented to ease people's hardships and sufferings.
The government's support measures for the people and country as announced by Muhyiddin in a series of live telecasts, also included the 2021 Budget with an allocation of RM322.5 billion, the largest in the country's history. Then, the latest is Permai, the country's fifth stimulus package worth RM15 billion to mitigate the impact of the pandemic as well as the Proclamation of Emergency.
Malaysians are mature enough and wise to understand that all these moves were carried out by this caring government merely for their sake and that of the country to curb the spread of Covid-19.
This extraordinary situation we are in now warrants us to be together in unison. Politicians like Santiago, regardless of political affiliations, therefore, must work together with the authorities in the fight against Covid-19, not creating further division, provocations or uncertainty amongst the people.
The reminder by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah that politicians should immediately stop politicking which could threaten the country's stability, should be remembered and adhered to by all politicians for as long as they live, whether they like it or not.
Of course in politics, politicians are up to their own motives and self-interests all the time but they must view such reminder seriously in the interest of the rakyat's well-being.
Now is the time for them to prove their political maturity and wisdom because the rakyat are frustrated andfed up with the continuous political turbulence and conundrum. It must not be allowed to continue festering in this country.
MD YUSOF ATAN
Muar, Johor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times