What do these three men – Sanusi, the Kedah MB, Ahmad Faizal, the Perak MB and Dr Adham, the Minister of Health – have in common?

The answer is simple. There three men patronise the rakyat and blame them for the rise in Coronavirus cases. They fail to address the role played by greedy and power hungry politicians and state exco members in spreading the virus and they refuse to acknowledge the double standards practised by Muhyiddin Yassin, under which  politicians were not punished for their non-compliance of the SOP.

The Kedah MB, Muhammad Sanusi Mohd Nor, was furious when members of the public blamed his administration, for the increase in Coronavirus cases in the state.

Claiming that the rise was something his government could not anticipate, Sanusi became defensive and started to compare the number of deaths from Coronavirus, with the deaths caused by diseases like dengue, malaria, H1N1, cholera, tuberculosis and other diseases, for which there are no vaccines.

At the end of last month, Kedah recorded a surge in Coronavirus infections, mostly in the Alor Setar prison. The Tembok cluster as it is now called, has already caused the death of at least one prisoner. On 7 October, another 153 cases were reported, mostly in the prison.

Sanusi was hurt when the public said that his administration did not know how to do their jobs. He said, “What can we do? This was already coming our way. it wasn’t like we can see this virus. We did not commit any sin.” (sic)

He also said that the rakyat’s anger was not justified because other people, besides politicians were infected, after returning to semenanjung, from Sabah, after campaigning for the Sabah state election.

He then said, “Even the POTUS and his wife were infected.”

Sanusi has made a tremendous error of judgement. Like his counterpart in Perak, Ahmad Faizal Azumu, both MBs have attacked the rakyat for criticising the handling of the Coronavirus threat. His argument that President Trump was also infected is infantile.

Trump did not conform to the mainstream view of the Coronavirus threat. He refused to wear masks and  did not take the precuations suggested by his medical team.

In Malaysia, the National Security Council (NSC) issued many conflicting messages about travel between Sabah and the peninsular.

The NSC chief, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, did not order any quarantine for those returning from Sabah until 27 September when a surge in cases was reported and infections erupted throughout peninsular Malaysia.

A request for returnees to home quarantine may have been suggested, but one wonders if this was ever enforced, especially among the political class. This explains why many Mnisters were infected, and they in turn, infected others.

Anyone would have anticipated a rise, especially as there were a number of known hot spots in Sabah.

As we are aware, two sets of rules exist in Malaysia. The Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Khairuddin Aman Razali, who returned from Turkey in July, attended a few sessions in parliament, hosted a number of official functions, and did not self-quarantine as required by law.

He risked infecting many people, but he has not been censured for his actions. He only paid a paltry RM1,000 fine, after he was exposed. Ordinary member of the rakyat, who committed the same offence, were arrested, tried in the magistrates’ courts, imprisoned and fined heavily. Khairuddin was treated with kid gloves.

Khairuddin set a precedent, so Sanusi should not be surprised by the reaction of the public against politicians.

The NSC did not impose strict travel conditions between peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. This was presumably done, so that politicians and their aides, could travel freely to canvass in Sabah. Ismail initially said that the situation was under control. This further confused the public.

Most of the members of the rakyat are law-abiding and follow the strict SOP and quarantine guidelines, but as we know, many politicians are too arrogant to follow the advice of the Director-General of Health, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Anyone who looked at newspapers and social media, would have seen photos of the political campaigns in Sabah, and would have been shocked to see that social distancing was seldom observed.

Incredibly, the spike in cases also prompted the Minister for Health to blame the rakyat. Dr Adham Baba claimed that the population had been complacent.

Ministers do not seem to be aware, that leaders, especially ministers and senior politicians, should lead by example and not flout the rules.

Sanusi should come down from his ivory tower and understand the concerns of the people. Dengue deaths do not close borders or force airlines to stop travel. The Coronavirus has affected every nation and closed many borders and adversely affected the economy.

If Sanusi were smart, he would understand that the Sabah state election was forced on the people because of a power grab by a few greedy and discontented politicians.

Why hold an election during these uncertain times? The people of Kedah and the rest of Malaysia are right to blame politicians for starting this fiasco and for the surge in Coronavirus cases.