Since the incumbent Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Perak Government was overturned on Feb 5, 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 Sultan of Perak, 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 has 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 state legislative assembly and not behind closed doors in the palace.
That is why in any democratic society, the state 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 sultan’s refusal to dissolve the state assembly to allow fresh states election may be within his power but it is generally perceived to be unfair. That is why so many people 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 ordered BN to form the new state government.
I think the Sultan of Perak is the only one who 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 legal suit against the sultan on this case. Some observers have pointed out it is not possible to take the sultan to court on this matter. It is also possible that such a move will create a great deal of animosity, bearing in mind that many Malaysians still revere the Sultan.
I think the best way forward is for PR leaders is to bite the bullet and wait patiently for the following situations to unfold:
1. BN. is allowed to form the new state government with only one Chinese from MCA and 27 Malays from Umno. Such a government with the three defectors will be very vulnerable because the defectors can change their minds at 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 assembly persons 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 these 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 to 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. In the meantime all Pakatan leaders must behave impeccably to gain more support.