Critical Drama

In a sweep of rushful events, the Pakatan Rakyat-led state of government in Perak is on the verge of collapse. The three individuals in question finally came public with their statements and all three resigned from their parties to become Independent MPs that are pro-BN. And then...what's this?! A fourth figure has emerged into the equation and it's the Bota MP who first started the whole thing! Nasaruddin appeared too and now he claims that he's returning back to UMNO with his "conscience and responsiblity". WTH?!! He might as well say that he jumped at the wrong time and now that the PR boat becomes the sinking one, he's returning back to dry land. And to think that just a couple of days ago, Anwar was saying "Syabas" to him. This is treachery and treason of the highest caliber committed by all the four frogs!

Najib is one smarty ass. You gotta take your hats off him for his political turnaround even though it looks very unethical. (not that one should condone such behaviour..haha) He's not even the PM or chairman of BN yet but still he could produce results that only Badawi could dream of after the March elections. This episode could increase his stranglehold of power in his party and he's displaying the same aptitude like Mahathir in dealing with his opponents. He's beginning to instill a resurgent belief among his followers and provided the timely morale boosting support that he needs before officially taking over in March 2009. This Perak episode was vital to create the admiration and respect that was needed to rally his troops.

Just weeks ago, BN was on the whipping end for Kuala Terengganu. And after Botaman ran to PKR and Tajol Rosli kena malu-ed, it looked like BN is gonna be in big trouble. But Najib in the background is probably puling the strings calmly and the rumours of PKR men joining over the side turned out to be true. This time, Anwar played the wrong card when he "broke" the unspoken rule of crossing over. He accepted Botaman's defection. In that, he changed the rules of the game and Najib is given the licence to go all out in playing the revised edition of the game. Najib seemed to be implying that "for everyone 1 man you take from us, we can take two from yours and now that one man who crossed over is ours too!" Botaman was the bait and he turns out to be the perfect Trojan horse. In a way, one could say that Anwar is now paying the price for his failed September 16 coup.

Anyways, Najib should not go around declaring that he can form a new Barisan state government. The current tally in Perak is 28 PR, 28 BN and 3 Independent. Even if he does manage to form the BN state government, what difference does it make from the current PR government? It's still a shaky one which did not command a solid majority. Surely, the next time another person crossover, then another state government changeover drama will occur again. Secondly, it's freaking bloody unfair that the Perak people get the BN government just because of the defections of 4 frogs. There is no way that the 4 frogs is speaking for the majority of the rakyat. There are approximately 10 seats in Perak where the BN commands less than 1000 majority. A majority in Parliament does not necessary command the majority approval of the rakyat. In Malaysia, candidates are voted in because of their party rather than their individual qualities. Some of these candidates are not even fit to stand as independent candidates if not for the support of their own parties. In a way, the Perak drama exposes the inherent weakness in the PR that a handful of the candidates inside are just not plain ready and qualified to serve the country and it was only because of the opposition euphoria that they are even voted in. Thus, a fresh election is needed to let the Perak people once and for all, with a clear majority hopefully, on their choice of government. If the PR government should fall, it should fall in a fair way because of the rakyat and not some froggies that melompat-lompat around.

I think that this entire Perak episode should also be a lesson for the Pakatan Rakyat. Party-hopping is wrong regardless of which of party the person is from. If it works one way, it will work backwards too. Now, the problem doesn't end here as both sides will not take things quietly after Perak. Already news are surfacing that Najib is looking at Kedah as the next point while Anwar is looking to capitalise on Negri Sembilan. Of course, the poor losers from all these politicking are the rakyat. Its gonna devastate the economy further during these times when Najib and his BN machinery is concentrating more on killing off his opponents than solving the current nagging economic problem. Anyways, it was strange that one of the vocal objections of the nature of BN's bold coup of the state government came from Mahathir himself who pointed out that public opinion would go against the party if they take in the two PKR defectors. Ohh..I thought that he would praise Najib for a job well-done in following his tactics from his book..haha.

So, now once again, we would see the intervention of the royal monarchy into politics as the Sultan mulls over the decision whether he should dissolve the State Assembly. He had already made a wise decision in picking Nizar as the MB over Jamaludin Radzi. Hopefully, he would pick the wiser choice albeit a more radical one in dissolving the state assembly. I have to say the image of the monarchy in the eyes of the rakyat is also now at stake as the whole of Malaysia awaits the decision of the Perak Sultan. As I said in my previous post, it would be a shame to see Nizar to go away like that because he was a fine gentleman. The coming of power by BN in Perak will set an unhealthy precedent where the government falls because of defections. Not only that, this blatant usurpation of power would be done unconstitutionally because in order for Nizar to be removed from his post, there needs to be proper channels for a vote of no-confidence. Najib just can't go up there to the Sultan and immediately ask to form the new government. The BN is very adept in playing psychological warfare. Legally speaking, the PR government is still in power but reports are starting to surface pointing out "The Fall" or total collapse and are starting the discussions over which BN man should be the new MB.

Regardless whether Najib wins Perak or not, it would not change the hearts and minds of Malaysians who are already all beaming with anger over this blatant usurpation of power. People do feel the revulsion over the treachery of the 4 frogs. He could win this battle but he'll lose the coming war ahead in 2013.