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 The dinner talk by the people’s Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin at Ipoh Swimming Club on Saturday, March 6, has encouraged me to write this article.
Last year I wrote a piece after Speaker V. Sivakumar was physically removed from his chair in the Perak state assembly. In my column, ‘We urge the Perak Sultan to dissolve the assembly’ (May 23, 2009), I made the prediction that we will never see the end of Perak’s battles in the court. I was wrong. The wheels of justice in Malaysia, which are notorious for grinding slowly, have in this instance demonstrated super speed. Exactly a month ago on Feb 9, the Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision that Umno’s Zambry Abdul Kadir was the rightful MB. Zambry's lead counsel Cecil Abraham also noted all parties are bound by the apex court's ruling. “This decision is binding on the state government and the Federal government,” he told reporters. There are many contentious points in the Federal Court’s ruling which have already been debated by other observers better versed in Malaysian constitutional law than me. However, to me, perhaps the most contentious argument was that the Sultan of Perak does not need to act on the advice of the executive council in the matter of dissolving the state legislative assembly and it was at his absolute discretion. This argument which smacks of a system of absolute monarchy will take Perak and the country backwards rather than forward. But let’s assume that the Federal Court ruling on this is correct. Is this the end of the matter? In my humble opinion, no – and I would like reiterate that the only way out of the present legal quagmire is to return the vote to the people.
Duty of Perak royalty
To safeguard the interest of the country and the institution of the monarchy, the voice and will of the rakyat must be respected. It has to be called on to be heard – in one way or another – because though the wheels of justice grind slowly, they grind exactingly. To the letter of the law a government must be answerable, and the one standing above politics must be accountable as well. In my humble opinion, Perak will regain its shine and the people’s trust when the Sultan accedes to the dissolution of the state assembly. Once again, we Perakians urge Sultan Azlan Shah to dissolve the state assembly. My view is not an isolated one. A poll of registered voters in Perak conducted by the Merdeka Centre for Public Opinion on Feb 8 showed that: - 76 percent of respondents felt that “the people through elections” should decide who forms the government in Perak. The breakdown by race was 60 percent Malays, 88 percent Chinese and 98 percent Indians.
- 74 percent of the respondents feel that the state assembly should have been dissolved after the defection of the three Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers. The breakdown by race was 59 percent Malays, 85 percent Chinese and 88 percent Indians.
- 68 percent of respondents said that the preferred option of settling the political crisis is either to hold three by-elections or statewide polls. The breakdown by race was 46 percent Malays, 88 percent Chinese and 80 percent Indians.
- 66 percent of the respondents do not accept state governments formed through the defection of state assemblymen. The breakdown by race was 46 percent Malays, 87 percent Chinese and 73 percent Indians.
- 62 percent of the respondents felt that the “role of the palace in this decision” means it does not recognise the will of the people.
- 59 percent of the respondents feel that the political crisis in Perak would decrease support for Barisan Nasional.
 Taken together, the poll by the Merdeka Centre suggests that Zambry and the BN may occupy the seat of government but a significant number of the citizens of the state do not accept their legitimacy to hold power.
Clearly, from the survey findings we can infer that while our politicians may have difficulties clinging onto principles and the democratic system, the rakyat know right from wrong. They cannot stomach politicians who get voted into office on one party’s ticket and then decide to jump ship, and causing that party’s popular state government to topple. They do not believe that the status of a government should be decided behind closed doors. And they want the Sultan to use his ‘absolute discretion’ to invoke the will of the people. I suggest that a quick return to the ballot box is the only morally and legally defensible option. Perak is in an impasse precisely because the vote has not been returned to the rakyat. I once again urge Sultan Azlan Shah to dissolve the Perak assembly and to have his good name be associated with the restoration of democracy.
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Everyone should support this appeal - including the BN side. Where is the sense of honour and shame amongst politicians or are these words not in their vocabulary?
Surely the Sultan can gauge the feelings of his subjects and use his authority to ensure a government that is legitimate and popular and not one that is put in place by judicial eunuchs?