COMMENT | For a good 24 hours, Malaysia’s competence, abilities and proficiencies – or rather the lack of them – was on show not only to its citizens but globally.

It started on Thursday evening as a side-show to the ongoing movement control order (MCO) but reached a crescendo by mid-morning the following day and tapered off towards the evening.

It had all the elements for a grand display of our systems and the rules and regulations, but instead, it showed the sheer might of authority and consequences when power was misused or abused.

Nobody knows who gave the order but groups of police officers went to supermarkets, convenience stores and other retail outlets on Thursday ordering operators to stop the sale of beer and liquor.

That same night, social media was full of photographs of police officers on these premises and luminous tapes across sections where beer and liquor were displayed...