She said a responsible and proactive government would have seen senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob first announcing the extension of the total lockdown, followed by finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz dishing out financial relief.

“But this does not seem to be the case. A total lockdown announcement without any blanket financial aid immediately is irresponsible.

“We want a government that does not behave like a mere prison warden, keeping people behind the grilles of their homes. The rising number of Covid-19 cases was contributed by their sheer incompetence and confusing and contradictory SOPs,” she said in a statement today.

The Segambut MP said she and many of her colleagues had been giving out bags of rice and other food items since the start of the movement control order (MCO) to help people who were struggling for survival, but wondered how long this could go on.

“We are talking about survival here. We are also talking about preventing more people from losing jobs and businesses closing shop.

“The government slices and cuts aid, targeting only the B40. There is hardly anything for the small and medium enterprises, which are mainly in the M40 category.

“And when those in the M40 category drown, the T20 group will become ‘breathless’.

“This government appears to be a bystander, not being proactive and employing a wait-and-see attitude. SMEs are in their final lap (of survival) and are calling out for help,” she said.

Yeoh said from MCO 1.0 to MCO 3.0, the Perikatan Nasional government had been announcing relief programmes wih many fancy abbreviations.

“But behind the cool-sounding facade, there is nothing. Even roadblocks have abbreviations now.

“These are nothing but shortened labels for their shoddy work, with an absolute lack of coordination by the ministries.”

She hoped the people’s suffering would end after the Conference of Rulers meeting next week.