Can Malaysia stabilise both politics and pandemic?

MALAYSIA appears to have bought itself some time, in terms of a respite from its unsettled politics, but less so the pandemic as infections - and deaths - continue to rise.

The Malaysian government, led by newly installed Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, and Pakatan Harapan, the main opposition bloc, on Sept 13 signed a "historic" memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a bipartisan pact dubbed "Transformation and Political Stability".

It's a bold endeavour given reforms and political certainty have eluded the country, which has spent more than a year beset by political turmoil and a worsening Covid-19 outbreak amid strict curbs that has hurt South-east Asia's fourth largest economy.