ADUN SPEAKS | At 10am today, July 4, 2021 (Sunday), my service team from Perai will be distributing food baskets to 40 families in Ladang Transkrian, Nibong Tebal.

Yesterday, unable to face difficulties arising from the lockdown, the 40 families raised the white flag in their respective homes to draw the attention of the local state assemblyperson, Zulkifli Ibrahim, and the public.

Zulkifli, who recently defected from PKR to Bersatu, was so annoyed that he turned up to scold the families, but he was told to leave the estate.

The unimaginative and over-centralised nature of the imposition of the lockdown have made life difficult for the working families throughout the country.

People are without jobs, there is no income, they have nowhere to turn.

Raising the white flag has become the last resort to draw public attention to get the needed assistance.

Yet there are unthinking, uncaring and insensitive politicians in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) governing coalition who are trying their very best through threats and intimidation to stop the white flag initiative.

For instance, the Kedah menteri besar openly displayed his hostility towards the white flag campaign, calling it anti-government propaganda.

However, some PN politicians lacking the political credentials simply sought to ride the white flag bandwagon.

As the Covid-19 pandemic takes a ferocious direction, the PN government has merely succeeded in vaccinating less than 10 percent of the population.

How the population is going to achieve herd immunity can be anybody’s guess.

Meanwhile, ordinary people, members of the working class and other subaltern sections of the population are increasingly turning their attention to seek the assistance of the public.

There is little hope placed in the government of the day.

The government that came to power through an illegal putsch has lost all authority and legitimacy.

The white flag initiative might gain momentum with the possibility of dovetailing into a large scale movement having political implications.

The white flag initiative symbolises the failure of the government in managing and controlling the pandemic.

It furthermore reflects the confidence and trust ordinary people have on the public, civil society organisations, charity groups and those caring individuals.

It must be remembered that the white flag campaign is not an unceasing and continuous one.

The economic, social and political circumstances might have the potential to change the colour of the flag.

The ball is the court of the PN government.

P RAMASAMY is Penang deputy chief minister II and Perai assemblyperson.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.