It must be the biggest cock-up of recent times, coming as the country was plunging deeper into a health crisis: the number of Covid-19 cases hitting the high 3,000s and heading for 4,000 a day; six states and three federal territories under the movement control order (MCO), and an emergency being declared.

Yet, in the midst of all this, somebody saw fit to give away frozen chicken.

Talk about a bird-brained idea.

Some 2,000 people – all birds of the same feather – flocked to collect the free chicken being handed out by the local Umno Youth division outside an animal shelter, of all places.

The roads were jammed with cars and motorcycles as the hordes descended on Putrajaya. It was a sad sight.

Either Malaysians are amazingly poor, and are desperate to get their hands on some chicken to eat, or a freebie culture is so ingrained within us that we rush for anything that is given gratis, no matter what the risk.

The risks in this case were high, very high. The coronavirus is among us, and has already afflicted more than 150,000 people and killed 601 to date.. And these thousands exposed themselves to the virus for what, some chicken?

With 2,000 birds given away, it worked out to about one chicken per person. The price to pay was astronomical. It’s no wonder that many are crying “fowl”.

The organisers have been left with egg on their faces; the police, we are told, have issued them a compound fine for the free chicken drive-through event, because they did not have approval from the authorities.

There are questions that need answers.

In the first place, who hatched the idea of such a giveaway. And why? Did someone in the corridors of power think they could drum up support with a stunt like this?

It’s not really a novel idea, either. Former prime minister Najib Razak managed to buy a whole chicken for only RM1, back in 2017.

And how harsh were the penalties handed down to the organisers? How big was the fine imposed? A poultry, oops…, paltry RM1,000? That would be chicken feed for the organisers.

Will the police now single out every one who gathered there and hit them each with the regulation RM1,000 for breaching MCO or emergency rules? Now, that would be a better option.

After all, senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been ruffling many feathers, telling us of people being arrested every day, some for far less serious, even frivolous, offences.

There were even two men who said they were fined RM1,000 each for blowing bubbles in a secluded corner of Puteri Harbour in Johor. They had seen some vendors selling those bubble toys, felt sorry for them as they had no business, and decided to buy some.

And in a corner with almost no people – they posted pictures of the spot – they decided to blow some bubbles. Of course, they had to take their masks off first. Almost instantly, the cops were breathing over them like angry mother hens!

Talking of frozen chicken, poultry dealers in Penang are getting hot under their collars. They have been told they cannot sell fresh chicken to their customers.

Instead, they have to buy slaughtered chicken from one company appointed by the city council and keep the birds in a freezer before selling them.

The poultrymen think it’s all poppycock as they would then be no different from how hypermarkets operate. After all, they say, wet markets are for fresh chicken.

They also question why a monopoly should rule the roost, and why they should not be allowed to buy their chicken from the seller of their choice.

The freezers they have been asked to buy don’t come cheap, either. The authorities say the freezers cost RM3,000 but the poultrymen say the machines may cost four times as much.

They are certainly not happy. Coming in the wake of the recent controversy over fake beef, they also question if the chicken they buy will indeed be halal or will it be just another cock and bull story.

They really think the ruling is all about someone feathering their own nest. Come to think of it, the same could be said of many rulings imposed upon us in recent days.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.