Perak’s roller coaster politics has been making ever wilder loops but all eyes in the next couple of weeks will be on the palace because that may be where the real solution lies.
DATUK Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin had made a brief but symbolic appearance at the State Secretariat early yesterday morning as the reinstated Mentri Besar.
He was dressed in a formal black baju Melayu and songkok because he was due at the Istana Iskandariah in Kuala Kangsar for an investiture ceremony.
The palace invitation for him to attend the awards ceremony in his capacity as the Mentri Besar had come the day before, in fact, just hours after the High Court decided that he, and not Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, was the rightful Mentri Besar.
At the palace function, he was accorded the respect due to a Mentri Besar, walking two steps behind the Raja Muda and later sharing the same table with the Raja di-Hilir.
But his euphoric return as the Mentri Besar was short-lived because barely a few hours later, he learnt that he was out again and that it was back to Dr Zambry as the Mentri Besar. The Appeals Court had granted a stay of execution on the High Court decision and the ding-dong over the Mentri Besar’s post began all over again.
The roller coaster politics of Perak is making ever wilder loops and the MB’s office is beginning to resemble a revolving door where Mentris Besar come and go. Some have even called it a game of musical chairs.
People used to laugh at the joke that Perak has two governments and no opposition. Unfortunately, the joke is no longer funny because there is also very little governance going on.
The Perak crisis has deepened and Perak is now in a state of limbo even as the lawyers battle it out in court. It has not only been politics day in and day out but a very intense and angry type of politics pressing down on the state.
In the meantime, the rival coalitions are seeking respective audiences with the Sultan.
Nizar is seeking royal consent to dissolve the state assembly and initiate fresh elections. Dr Zambry, who enjoys the majority in the assembly, is set on a special sitting so that his side can move a vote-of-no-confidence against Nizar.
The ball, as everyone says, is now in the royal court. There are two options before the palace.
One is to consider Pakatan Rakyat’s request for a dissolution of the assembly.
Public opinion generally favours this option because after watching the last three months of intense politicking, many think that the crisis has reached a point of no return and feel that the best way out is to let the people decide.
No less than the Senate president Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Pawanteh has stuck his neck out to state that “maybe it is time to go back to the people.”
“We are not afraid to face the people. Let them have the final say,” said Asmuni Awi, the deputy state chief for PAS.
But Kampar Umno chief Datuk Radzi Manan said: “This is a numbers game. Nizar’s coalition is in the minority. We have the numbers to form the Government. You cannot move to dissolve the assembly only after you lose the majority. Even in banking, you don’t issue a cheque if you don’t have the funds.”
The other option is for the palace to consider Barisan’s request for a special sitting to decide on the position of Nizar, a procedure that would have pre-empted a lot of today’s issues had the Barisan done it in February.
If the palace agrees to this, the Barisan stands a very good chance of moving a vote-of- no-confidence against Nizar since it holds the majority in the assembly.
But as some have pointed out, there is the issue of who will sit as the Speaker in the event of a special assembly.
Will another fierce fracas erupt over whether Pakatan’s V. Sivakumar or Barisan’s Datuk R. Ganesan will preside over the special sitting?
Dr Zambry has spent the best and worst part of last week trying to get people on his side to stay calm and not react to the situation. He knows that the last thing he needs is an ugly flare-up on his hands.
The US-educated politician has been fire-fighting from day one of his appointment as MB but last Thursday’s assembly sitting was perhaps one the most taxing in his political career.
But his no-drama temperament held up and he has not lost his cool or succumbed to the pressure.
In fact, he has been the one asking Barisan supporters to stay calm and respect the court decision even when it was to declare his rival as the rightful MB.
“I don’t want to behave like the other side. When the Federal Court ruled against them, they rejected the decision and went against it. If the court rules in our favour, then that is fine. But if it doesn’t, then I will accept it,” he said.
The politicians will continue to play their politics and the lawyers will battle it out in court but all eyes in the next couple of weeks will be on the palace because that may be where the real solution lies.
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