Bipartisanship is what we need

MALAYSIANS have had a bad news/good news week: We reached a landmark 980,000+ cumulative Covid-19 cases. But our vaccination rates are at an all-time high, with 16 million doses reportedly administered, bringing us that much closer to a mostly inoculated population and a subsequent economic reopening.

Of course, we all want the same end, that resumption of normalcy in our lives. But we cannot run away from that fact that this requires political will. Last year, the two words on the lips of quite a few influential politicians and many Malaysians were “unity government”. However, as the past one year has shown, that is a tough ask. As we are reaching a crucial moment in our fight against the pandemic, the last thing we would want is to do is indulge this ask and throw the nation into political turmoil. Nevertheless, the essence of a unity government should not be lost on us – i.e. a stop to political bickering and cooperation from both sides of the aisle to determine a holistic strategy moving forward.