Malaysia is facing a hijack situation. The country must find a way to deal with a scruffy bunch of near-do-wells who have seized the cockpit and grabbed hold of the levers of power before there is a major crash.

These illegitimate bandits are refusing to heed any voices of authority, be it from air traffic control (the constitution), the pilot (the king), the crew (parliament) or indeed the whole plane full of outraged passengers (the population) who want these bandits out of the way.

How they breached security to seize hold of such a position is a separate story (involving folly by an old caretaker and an arrogant head of state), however the means by which they continue to hold power are becoming increasingly shocking. People are starting to die as a result of their ruthless tactics.

The weapon currently being bandied to keep control is Covid. Were it not for the simultaneous incidence of this deadly disease the so-called Sheraton coup would have gone flat from the start. The rebellion had lacked sufficient defectors but they soon saw the opportunity presented by the crisis.

For the past year the Mahiaddin government, which first relied on a misjudged appointment by a misinformed monarch, has continued to hold office primarily by cracking down on the democratic process in the name of the disease.

No other country in the world, save Hungary, has suspended democracy on the grounds of Covid in such a blatant fashion. Elsewhere, the support and engagement of elected MPs has been considered vital to legitimise the heavy measures needed to tackle the disease.

In Malaysia suspending parliament on the excuse of Covid has conversely proven the main protection for this minority administration, which has proceeded to govern without consent having lacked legitimacy from the start.

Originally this trampling of legitimate process was done in the name of the King, who at first supported the concept that the health emergency needed PN to be protected from being booted out. However, it has become apparent to the entire country how this administration realises that it is only through prolonging the emergency that they can prolong their lucrative term of office.

There is now a conflict of interest in terms of tackling the pandemic as far as the PN minority government is concerned.

The King and the country’s rulers have now responded to the overwhelming popular sentiment by requiring an end to the emergency, the recalling of parliament and return to a consensus that is focused on prioritising the health crisis and vaccination effort.

However, the bandits behind Mahiaddin have belligerently refused to budge. They are now biting the hand that fed them in the first place!

Instead, they have announced that the constitution, parliament and the rule of law hold second place to the command of a prime minister who holds no continuing legitimacy of any kind. This is according to a pair of unelected mercenary brothers, at least, one placed in the Speaker’s chair and the other the Attorney General’s Chambers – by Mahiaddin himself.

The crowning irony is that this sick prime minister who thus clings to office barely does his job and has the presence and authority of a limp puppet who merely craves a position he can no longer fulfil. People are dying thanks to his vain incompetence and to the greed of the rag tag troop of opportunist rent-seekers he has gathered to prop him up and quarrel amongst themselves about who is puppet master.

The desperadoes have now created a Catch 22 solution as their latest ploy to keep themselves in office, otherwise known as Mahiaddin’s ‘National Recovery Plan’.

Under the ‘recovery’ plan the country can only be released from what has proven to be a completely unproductive, anti-democratic and arbitrary ‘Covid’ crackdown when the disease has been eradicated. This is a crackdown that applies to ordinary folk and opposition critics but not to PN’s friends and business associates.

Meanwhile, just about everything this illegitimate posse of power grabbers has done and continues to do has made the situation worse not better. It’s in their interest after all and it’s written into that national plan of non-recovery to stay in office.

For example, billions have been spent on buying vaccines (allegedly) yet only a smattering of the proceeds of those procurements have reached the arms of the nation.  Politicians are amongst the elite few to all be immunised, nonetheless they are being refused their right to sit in parliament.

PN spokesmen come up with a different excuse each day as to why the vaccine roll-out has taken them so long. However, the country can full well understand that it doesn’t suit an illegitimate minority of rogue politicians to face parliament, but rather for the ’emergency’ to continue.

In short, the more cases of Covid that beset the nation the better the chances for PN’s present survival along with their continuing ability to hand themselves contracts and act the boss. This also means more people will die, especially in a country where the vast majority remain un-immunised.

What to do? There is no question but that these political hijackers have violated the law – in a genuine act of sedition against the state (the charge they are so fond of throwing against their critics) but right now they hold the levers of authority.

At some point it is becoming clear that the people in the back of the plane may have to rise out of their seats and sort out these imposters, otherwise one by one more people will die and the country will lose its liberty altogether.

They must first raise their voices louder to make sure their power and anger are truly felt.