COMMENT | The origins of the “truth deficiency syndrome” can be traced to the heydays of the 1MDB scandal, when the then BN government tried to hide the mammoth losses to protect those involved.

I then wrote: “We are being continuously fed with half-truths and misinformation, so much so that not many members of the public have any faith in the accuracy of government statements and announcements. Malaysians are prevented from making an educated, well-informed, and precise opinion.”

This was followed by a letter to the then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin: “As you are aware, the nation is suffering from the effects of the coronavirus, but what is more contagious is a disease called the ‘truth deficiency syndrome’, which brought the BN government down almost two years ago. With the change in May 2018, it was contained, but whatever traces remain are imploding without control.”

Malaysians thought that in 2022, the incoming government, led by Anwar Ibrahim, would eradicate this disease by stopping its spread.