Najib:BN leaves it to HRH Sultan Azlan Shah to solve the Perak Crisis

DIN MERICAN

Three months ago, then Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was in a triumphant mood because he thought he had pulled a political coup to oust the Pakatan Rakyat state government of Perak and humiliate Menteri Besar of Perak, Datuk Seri Ir. Mohammed Nizar  Jamaluddin. He was  able to “persuade” 3DUNs –2 from PKR and Ms. Hee from DAP–to crossover as “independents” allied to UMNO-Barisan Nasional. Najib  had apparently used a kind of Blue Ocean strategy to outflank his political opponents in Pakatan Rakyat and make them irrelevant in Perak.

Today, as Prime Minister, he knows that his move  led to  a political crisis of unprecedented proportions, crippling the state in a gridlock with no other practical solution–even recourse to the  Courts will not soothe public frustration– than to allow HRH Sultan of Perak to decide on whether or not the State Assembly should be dissolved. But then isn’t this vintage Najib? Create a problem and then pass the buck to someone else to deal with it.Wasn’t he the same person who assured HRH Sultan Azlan Shah during their face to face meetings that the change of government in Perak would be smooth, orderly and sustainable?

It was naive 0n the Prime Minister’s part to think that 3 froggies from Pakatan Rakyat plus the return of the prodigal ADUN from Bota to UMNO after joining PKR would be enough to hold the state government together.  He is wrong.  Najib underestimated the resolve of Pakatan Rakyat to launch a counter attack to regain its legitimacy to govern. More importantly, he misread the mood of Perakians and Malaysians who love freedom, democracy and justice. That usually happens when arrogance of power blinds leaders.  So, a mirage is taken as the real thing.

This misreading of the mood of  the grassroots can be costly. For Najib, this may lead to a quick end of his regime in the manner Badawi lost his job after March 8, 2008 political tsunami. It is for this reason than anything else that  the Prime Minister is reluctant to allow fresh elections in Perak.  A humiliating defeat in  the snap election could usher in his UMNO rival  Muhiyuddin Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education as his successor, and cause the current rift in the ranks of UMNO and Barisan Nasional to widen further.

In his desperation, Najib now wants to hold discussions with Pakatan Rakyat without preconditions on what can be done to resolve the political impasse, believing that a solution could be found if the Opposition (is he referring to Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat in Perak?) is willing to show mutual respect and adheres to rules inside and outside the state assembly. Did he not himself break the rules in the first place? He is obviously blind to the fact that it is UMNO-Barisan Nasional that broke the rules and acted illegally (the High Court decided in the Zambry vs Nizar case on May 7 that Nizar is and has always been the rightful mentri besar of Perak). He  then used the police under the charge of his first cousin, Hishamuddin Tun Hussein Onn to intimidate Pakatan ADUNS in the State Assembly, to forcibly remove the legitimate DUN Speaker, lawyer Sivakumar, and  disrupt the daily routines of thousands of people. and business in Ipoh.

All one has to do is to review video clips of the recent state assembly session where HRH the Regent of Perak was held up in the assembly for 5 hours before he was finally allowed to deliver the Royal Address.  The Prime Minister should stop playing  “political roulette” (to quote SakmongkolAK47), and get on with the business of government , especially with the worsening economic situation in our country. One can only hope that in order to save Perak,  HRH Sultan Azlan Shah will dissolve the state assembly so that a fresh mandate to govern can be obtained from the people. In the end, good sense must prevail. Contrary to the prevailing view, I have  still some faith left in HRH Sultan Azlan that HRH will do the right thing for his beloved state and his people.

Let  the lessons of Perak serve to remind us that  in this day and age, we Malaysians can no longer accept the kind of politics that have been played by UMNO and Barisan Nasional. Gutter politics is not what decent Malaysians want to see in our country.  Return power to the people because they have the collective wisdom, as Anwar Ibrahim says, to know and do what is right for themselves and their country.

Politicians must, therefore, play the game of government in accordance with our constitution while those entrusted with the responsibility for public administration and public security too must know that they have a solemn duty to protect the fundamental freedoms of all Malaysians, and act without fear or favour in administering the Rule of Law.—Din Merican

 

Najib: Barisan Nasional  will leave it to the Sultan to decide
by Humayun Kabir@www.malaysiakini.com

May 15, 2009

Public pressure is once again on Perak Sultan Azlan Shah to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly and call for fresh state elections to break the three-month-long political impasse.

Two days ago, a coalition of 50 non-governmental organisations in Perak made a public plea to the Sultan to exercise his constitutional powers in dissolving the assembly and get a fresh mandate from his subjects on their choice of government.

The NGO coalition, which stated that it neither supports Pakatan Rakyat nor Barisan Nasional state government, said their main concern was the welfare of Perakians. According to the coalition, they want true democracy to once again flourish in the Silver state.

Last night (May 14, 2009), Perak PAS Muslimat – the Islamic party women’s wing – also made a similar plea to the Sultan to step in and resolve the political imbroglio confronting the state. “Our Tuanku is not only very intelligent but he is also the country’s former chief justice who had delivered ground-breaking judgments,” Muslimat chief Bariah Alang Sapri told Malaysiakini.

“Likewise, we want Tuanku to give a decisive judgment so that his subjects can once again return to their normal life instead continuing to live with the political tension and turmoil that has raged in the state since February.”

Bariah accused BN of abusing the powers of executive, legislative and judiciary to achieve their political objective in retaining the state government. “Tuanku is our last hope of bringing political stability to the state as we have lost hope in Barisan in calling fresh state elections.”

Najib: BN will leave it to the Sultan

Another reminder of the sultan’s constitutional powers in dissolving the state assembly came yesterday from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak himself. The newly-minted premier said he would leave it to Sultan Azlan Shah to decide on whether an election was to be held.

“We hope that Tuanku will listen to the wishes of his subjects and call for fresh elections. Najib’s statement yesterday has also strengthened our belief that Tuanku is expected by everyone to make a decision on the matter,” said Bariah.

However, Bariah said PAS would respect the Sultan’s decision even if he decides against calling fresh elections. “Patience and tolerance is the way of life for all PAS members and as such we will wait for the next state election, which we believe will come as early as next year,” said the state head PAS Muslimat.

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