Has the Ismail Sabri government descended into a kakistocracy where the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing?

The claim by the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative Minister Noh Omar that he is still the Selangor state chairman of the National Security Council (NSC) after the Selangor Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari claimed that he has resumed the task of the state NSC chief beggars imagination.

Has the Federal Government, which Prime Minister Ismail Sabri gave 90 per cent score to his jumbo-sized Cabinet for its first 100-day performance, quickly descended into a kakistocracy where the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing?

Genius overnight became a dud?

Who is now the Selangor chairman of the NSC – Amiruddin Shari or Noh Omar?

Can the Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri make an announcement to clear the air as such a conundrum should not arise in the midst of the deadliest floods disaster which has claimed 27 lives so far, the highest death toll since the last major floods in 2014, and still counting.

Or is the Prime Minister as “confused” on the matter as Noh Omar and Amniruddin Shah and could throw no light on the matter?

I agree with former Minister, Rafidah Aziz, that the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) is a disaster and with the Bersatu Supreme Council Member Rais Hussin that there is no excuse for poorly co-ordinated disaster management and that the government should be more concerned about pre-disaster preparedness and delivery than post-disaster relief.

The Ismail Sabri Government was grossly remiss in not presenting a Ministerial statement on the massive flood disasters in Selangor and Pahang on the extended last day of Dewan Rakyat on Dec. 20, 2021.

The Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun is right when he denied allegations that he rejected a motion to debate the ongoing flood situation on the last day of the Dewan Rakyat sitting on Monday, but he failed as a reform Speaker of Dewan Rakyat in not ensuring that the floods disaster was the highlight of the last day of Dewan Rakyat.

This could be done in various ways, including inquiring why the Ismail Sabri government was not providing for a special debate on the floods disaster before Monday – in keeping with the doctrine of separation of powers where Parliament is co-equal with the Executive as two of the three branches of government and Parliament not subordinate to the Executive.

Can we learn from our mistakes?