Since the incumbent Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Perak Government was overturned on 5th Feb. 09, many creditable commentators such as Transparency International and Suhakam have expressed their views on this political crisis. Many ordinary people are also questioning the wisdom of the Perak Sultan, the former Lord President, in handling the case. Generally many people are dissatisfied and some even angry with the way in which the Government they elected to power in March last year and the Mentri Besar legally appointed have now been pushed out of office.
This constitutional crisis could have been avoided if all the political players, including the Sultan, practised real democracy in resolving the matter in the legislative assembly and not behind closed doors in the palace. That is why in any democratic society the legislative assembly is open to the public, so that the common people can see the constitutional process to be fair and open to scrutiny.
The Perak Sultan’s refusal to dissolve the state assembly to allow a new election may be within his powers but it is generally perceived to be unfair. That is why so many people have turned up to demonstrate to air their frustrations. To add insult to injury, the Sultan has refused to meet all the leaders of PAS, PKR and DAP after he had ordered the BN to form the new Government.
I think the Perak Sultan is the only who one can resolve the whole political issue by reversing his earlier position. Unfortunately I do not think this is likely to happen. At the same time, it will also be very difficult to bring a court suit against the Sultan on the case. Some observers have pointed out it is not possible to take the Sultan to court on the matter. It is also possible that such a move will crate a great deal of animosity, bearing in mind that many Malays still revere the Sultan.
The best way forward:
I think the best way forward for the PR leaders to bite the bullet and wait patiently for the following situation to unfold:
1. They should allow the BN. with only one Chinese from MCA and 27 Malays from UMNO to form the new State Government. Such a government with the 3 defectors is very vulnerable because the defectors can change their mind any time.
2. If the three unreliable independents switch their allegiance to PR, it will mean that the Sultan has to request PR to form the state government again.
3. Moreover, if the two independent assemblymen who are being charged for corruption, are found guilty, their seats will be declared vacant, thus ensuring that by-elections will be called.
4. Anyone with a little foresight can foresee who will win in the by-elections. In such an event, the Sultan again will have to ask PR to form the new government.
5. Even if the defectors do not switch their allegiance to PR or the corruption charges are dropped, eventually in the next general election PR will definitely win by a larger margin.
My advice is: just wait patiently for the durian to drop and for the political control of Perak to return to the rightful and legitimate political party sooner or later. At the mean time all the PR leaders must behave morally and civilly to gain more support.