Politics in Perak has reached a more urgent level aft=
er
the drama of an open-air “emergency assembly sitting” but there=
is
no sign that either side is ready to concede.
IT WAS not a scene that many in the crowd thought they
would witness in their lifetime – a State Legislative Assembly
“sitting” in the shade of a giant raintree=
smack in the middle of
Or, at least, that was what the =
Pakatan
Rakyat assemblymen declared it to be.
They were in formal suit and tie, the Speaker V.
Sivakumar wore his embroidered songkok a=
nd
ceremonial robes while the almost brand new Toyota Camry bearing the offici=
al
seal of the Mentri Besar
was parked nearby.
It was quite a surreal scene but the huge crowd that
turned up to watch the event seemed to take it rather seriously.
But then, so much of what has happened in Perak in re=
cent
weeks has not been anything that Perakians imag=
ined
they would see.
And after what happened yesterday, it is difficult to=
see
how much longer things can go on this way.
There seems to be twin sets of everything in Perak
– two Mentris Besar<=
/span>,
two executive councils and even two sets of lawyers representing the respec=
tive
sides. It has become quite farcical.
Both the Pakatan and Barisan Nasional have tri=
ed to
checkmate each other every step of the way and the result has been a politi=
cal
stalemate that has left Perakians confused,
frustrated and unhappy.
Reporters have had an even more uniquely tough time. =
If
they refer to Datuk Dr Zam=
bry
Abdul Kadir as the Mentri<=
/span> Besar, they are reprimanded by P=
akatan
supporters; if they refer to Datuk Seri Mohamma=
d Nizar Jamaluddin as the <=
span
class=3DSpellE>Mentri Besar, they are
reprimanded by Barisan supporters.
There are two governments and no opposition in Perak,=
as
they say.
The question on many people’s mind is: When and=
how
will all of this end?
The Merdeka Centre survey=
on
how people felt about this issue was quite apparent on the ground yesterday.
The Pakatan crowd saw a racially mixed group wh=
ile
the Malay sentiment was clearly split.
Among the more hardcore supporters on either side, th=
ere
is very real anger over what they see as their right to power as illustrate=
d by
a number of brief but fierce scuffles yesterday.
Were it not for the political handlers controlling the
situation, things could have become really ugly.
Yesterday’s events demonstrated just how determ=
ined
Pakatan is in pushing the boundaries and in cha=
llenging
the political standing and legality of the new Barisan=
government.
It is evident Pakatan has=
no
intention of backing off from its claim to power even though Nizar looked like he had lost weight and the Speaker =
seemed
quite overwhelmed as he was escorted to his car after the dramatic morning.=
As far as they are concerned, the State Legislative
Assembly has been dissolved and Dr Zambry and h=
is six
executive councillors have been suspended.
Their goal is to force a state el=
ection,
something the Barisan has little intention of d=
oing.
“They have filed legal suits to challenge the
legality of the new Mentri Besar
and to declare the seats vacant. Let the courts decide instead of resorting=
to
street action,” said Datuk Chang Ko Yo=
un,
an adviser in Dr Zambry’s executive counc=
il.
He said Nizar should have=
asked
for a dissolution of the State Assembly when he =
still
enjoyed the majority.
“It was only after he lost the majority that he
pressed for fresh elections. It was too late,” said Chang.
Analogies have been drawn between what is happening in
Perak to that in
But the Thai solution has not been ideal because the
losing side has resorted to street protests or people power as they call it=
.
As for Perakians, they ca=
nnot
even see the light at the end of the tunnel. But everywhere one goes in
Even the Chinese, so notorious for keeping their
political opinions close to their chest, are now getting it off their chest=
to
just about anyone who will listen.
But it cannot be denied that regardless of whether pe=
ople
support Pakatan, Barisan or
are undecided, there is widespread sentiment that the medium-term solution =
lies
in a state election.
Otherwise, the political drama will continue with no =
real
winners and the losers will be the rakyat.
The people are looking to the Perak palace for a wise
solution.