I’ll start from where I left off in my previous article entitled “Ammo for a former PM“.

I ended that article saying: By the look of things, Datuk Seri Najib Razak will continue to get all the ammo he needs (to fire at the government).

That article, If you recall, was about the government seen to be presenting Najib bullets for him to shoot back at it.

Well, as if right on cue, the Muhyiddin-led administration has given yet another bullet to Najib.

Apparently, the government had instructed civil servants to sign off official letters with a reference to the current state of emergency.

Najib somehow came to know about it (which is no surprise really), and in a flash uploaded an image of a circular signed by Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman, announcing the adoption of “Prihatin Rakayt: Darurat Memerangi COVID-19”. Quite a mouthful if you ask men for something to be used as a sign off.

Hence, with immediate effect, that would be how official letters will be signed off. Translated, it would read: “Caring for the rakyat: Emergency to battle COVID-19”.

Najib immediately ridiculed the directive. In his FB post titled “Directives on the use of phrases in all government letters”, Najib compared the new Perikatan Nasional sign off with those of the previous Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan administrations.

He wrote: Kerajaan BN: Berkhidmat untuk Negara or serving the county. PH: Saya yang menjalankan amanah” or carrying out my responsibility.

Najib then posted the PN sign off to show the contrast.

To a substantial number of Malaysians, emergency is not necessary to battle COVID-!9. Many see the emergency more as a political move aimed at keeping the shaky PN government in power.

And even Muhyiddin’s legitimacy in advising the King to declare the emergency is being questioned. In fact, the legitimacy of the government itself is being questioned.

Anyway, this directive for civil servants to sign off official letters with reference to the emergency can be construed as propaganda. Or at best the government is on defensive mode in justifying the emergency.

Trying hard to pacify the people’s “concerns”. Perhaps trying too hard?

According to The Vibes news portal, the circular published on the department’s website noted that the government has decided to use the sign-off “to instill into public servants full commitment in adhering to measures under the emergency to fight the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Can this be seen as civil servants are not convinced that they need to be “reminded”?

Also, doesn’t the government have a thousand and one things to handle with regards to the rampaging pandemic, battered economy and current suffering of the people other than cracking its head over a letter sign off?

Whatever the reason, Najib has got his bullet once again to shoot at Muhyiddin and Co, courtesy of the government itself.

According to the PSD director-general, the phrase will be used as long as the emergency proclamation is implemented.

The emergency was enforced earlier this month and is due to stretch until August 1. That would give Najib plenty of time to “talk” about the directive, among other things.

DAP’s MP for Kepong Lim Lip Eng, as reported in MalaysiaKini, has questioned whether the new mantra was suggested by medical frontliners or it came from the “political propaganda machine Community Communications Department or J-Kom”.

J-Kom is a rebranded name of the special affairs department widely known as Jasa.

Personally, I go for the common sign off – “Yang Benar”. That would give a sense of honesty and sincerity.

(Mohsin Abdullah is a veteran journalist and now a freelancer who writes about this, that and everything else.)