By Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi

The country is on the brink of a total collapse in its losing war against COVID-19.

The enemy is not the virus per se. The enemy is a perceived ineffective cabinet working in a political survival against the onslaught of mistrust of the citizens and the attacks of the opposition members.

Muhyiddin's cabinet is balancing the war against his faltering image of an economic and political leadership and a losing control of the virus. He cannot win, but the losers will be all of us, not him alone.

In this article, I, as a citizen of Malaysia, would like to call upon all Malaysians and opposition members for a one-month ceasefire so that the country can go on an MCO 1.0 total lockdown.

I will also call for a War Committee that does not have any cabinet member except the PM as the commander-in-chief.

We are losing the war, dear fellow citizens, and we must give 100% backing to Muhyiddin and the War Committee to do the necessary steps to defeat this enemy, or we will lose more than lives but our ways of life and our children's future!

The country, I think, must go on a one-month lockdown as in the MCO 1.0 with all schools, all businesses except the very essential, all offices, all religious houses of worship and all inter-district travels to cease for one month.

The loan moratorium shall take effect for six month while wages of workers be maintained at least at 60% for one month.

We are in an absolute dire situation with the public and private frontliners bearing the full brunt of the war. It is time we, as citizens, do out bit and tighten our belts for one month. There is no other choices that I can see.

I call for a political ceasefire to be in effect immediately for one month. What does this mean? It means that everyone including the oppositions must give 100% trust to the War Committee that can be set up.

There is too much politicking by government MPs, cabinet members and opposition MPs. If the opposition feel that there are serious issues concerning a cabinet member, put in a diary for one month and call for account after that ceasefire period.

Please also stop calling for resignations of cabinet members as I think this is a childish thing to do. Only the PM can sack cabinet members and none of the country's politicians would ever resign except for high integrity individuals like Zaid Ibrahim and Maszlee Malik.

Civil society and netizens should cease any 'kerajaan gagal' campaign during the ceasefire. We will have a reckoning with this administration when the virus is realistically tamed and controlled, and our hospital beds empty with a well-rested battalion of nurses and doctors.

I am with the majority of rakyat who never voted for this government, but our day of reckoning with them is not now but after we have successfully kept the virus at bay.

This, in one sense, is a good strategy to help the PM fight the virus and then he will no longer have any excuse to close parliament and prolong the emergency once we win the battle against COVID-19.

At the moment, no one is winning and everyone is suffering.

Next, I call for a War Committee to be set up. This committee will be chaired by the PM as the only politician in the committee. I do not want any other politicians or cabinet members in the committee because more than half the rakyat do not trust or support these people.

All cabinet members shall take a one-month leave from their offices and spend that time reading books, doing extra prayers, catching up with their Facebook accounts or helping their children with their online learning.

The War Committee should comprise heads of the essential departments like the police, army, health office, treasury, Sabah and Sarawak civil service heads and a few others.

I would also like to increase the trust deficit of the War Committee by having well-known and respected civil society members like Ambiga, Terence Gomez, Dr. KJohn and Dennis Ignatius. These civil society leaders have shown their courage and proven their integrity for the last decade and will command the trust of the majority of the population.

There should not be more than 20 members to move quickly, decisively and most importantly command the trust and respect of the people who must be moved as soldiers in a battlefield against the enemy-virus.

Trust is an item of utmost importance in this crisis, and the PM at this moment has none among the people. He must draw that trust from efficient civil servants and civil society members or else our battle will be lost.

If there ever was a moment that Muhyiddin could earn the trust of the rakyat, it is in doing something different, something courageous and something unselfish to prove his commitment to be the leader for all the people in Malaysia.

In summary, our enemy is not with the virus alone, but it is also with the element of trust between the captain and the crew of a sinking ship battling a storm of epic proportion.

We will prevail together with our PM or we will all 'die' together in more ways than one.

(Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor at a local university.)