Recent statements by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad bring to stark relief how the old guard may keep the country trapped in an unending cycle of adversarial politics.

AS we transition from the movement control order (MCO) to the conditional MCO, it looks like we are also transitioning from a short-lived ceasefire back into the full on political war that began with the Sheraton Move.

While we search for sustainable solutions for this issue, we should not be blinded to basic human compassion and empathy.

Deep, systemic political and economic problems are being laid bare.

Restricting movements sometimes creates more crowding, and greater risk of infection. Is that what we want?