In geological terms “soon” could be 100 million years.

The Malaysian King wants Mahiaddin Yassin to reconvene parliament as soon as possible.

The ministers have been vaccinated, can travel overseas, break the social distancing rules, and yet, parliament cannot open. What a joke!

“Soon” is too vague. People are suffering and dying. Many have been made homeless, used up their savings, relationship are broken, families are destroyed. Suicides are up. Hunger will kill more people than Coronavirus.

‘Soon” is a daft word to use. Just be firm and name a date.

The King has issued three statements about reconvening parliament, but Mahiaddin refuses to budge. It’s because he has everything to lose.

Ifi you recall, the people did not elect Mahiaddin to be PM. He was given the mandate to rule by the King.

Mahiaddin’s emergency rule gave him unlimited powers to bulldoze his policies through. He had absolute power.

This is the man who couldn’t decide which name, Muhyiddin or Mahiaddin, to use and yet he was given the power to rule Malaysia. One would not trust Mahiaddin to run a goreng pisang stall, and yet he was given absolute authority to govern. How daft is that?

As a former Education minister, Mahiaddin announced that Malaysia had the best education in the world. So, why do ministers send their children to overseas schools?

Meanwhile, constitutional experts debate whether the monarch has the power to recall parliament. Those who claim to be experts are good at faffing around. The Speaker of parliament says one thing. His deputy says another. The Opposition is as good as useless. The component parties in PN, do not think about the rakyat. They only think about being in power and will say or do anything to receive rewards from Mahiaddin. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours, is the motto of the Malaysian government.

As far as some of us are concerned, a constitutional monarch should NEVER had been put in the position of making political decisions like giving Mahiaddin the mandate to rule, in February/March 2020.

As far as some of us are concerned, a reputable person would have refused to be put in such a dicey position.

The Sheraton move should have been declared a constitutional crisis but why is it only now, one and a half years later, that the constitutional experts are faffing around and debating if the monarch has the power to recall parliament.

The constitutional experts should have convinced the public last year. Why speak-out only now? Were they protecting their rice bowls then?

Is it because they are alarmed by the increasing deaths from Coronavirus, the high suicide rate, the loss of income, the loss of dignity, the many homeless, the business owners who had to close down their firms, the increasing racial and religious rhetoric of politicians who use race and religion to further their own aims.

I and many other concerned Malaysians warned last year, that the pandemic will get worse, and more people will die, not from the disease, but more from hunger. The politicians refused to heed our warnings.

What ‘soon’ means to Mahiaddin

Mahiaddin will dig his heels in. He has everything to lose.

1. ‘Soon’ buys Mahiaddin time.

2. ‘Soon’ will put people off.

3. ‘Soon’ means that in time, the people will forget. To paraphrase Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysians mudah lupa (Malaysians easily forget)

4. To some people, ‘soon’ gives the impression that the situation is being managed.

5. ‘Soon’ is a dangerous time concept. When ordinary people are suffering or are unable to find jobs to earn money to buy food, or have lost their homes, the vague term “soon” will generate increasing dissent against the elites and the authorities.

The word “soon” means different things to different people.

In geological terms, soon could be a matter of 100 million years.

In medical terms, “soon” is a matter of minutes or seconds. For a stroke victim, soon could be a matter of a few minutes, If his brain is deprived of oxygen, he could suffer permanent damage. ‘Soon’ means seconds before a person bleeds out, when an artery is cut.

Malaysian politicians are brilliant at faffing around with words, like “soon”. They also like to arrange further meetings to faff around with the word ‘soon’.

When the suffering of the rakyat increases, and reaches a tipping-point, it is the role and relevance of the monarchy, which will be put under the spotlight.

So, how soon is ‘soon’? If the authorities were smart, they would name a date for parliament to reconvene, before the word “soon” forces the people’s hands.