'Tengku, for the sake of Malaysia and her people, the most effective way for you to turn the tide of degeneration in Malaysia is to throw your support behind Pakatan Rakyat.'

On Ku Li: Not right way to take power

Meng Yee: Dear Tengku, your analysis of the situation in Perak and your unbiased statements establishes your character and your mark as a man of principle and integrity. It is unfortunate that history did not find a place for you as the fifth prime minister of Malaysia.

Your consistent call for integrity and fair play has landed on deaf ears not because your message is irrelevant but because the political party which you once knew is no more. It remains a shell devoid of any honour and pride.

There is only a beast hungry for money, power and positions. To Umno the ends justify the means. There is no turning back for Umno and it is impossible for it to change.

Those who are in leadership and want to stay in leadership cannot change those who supply the money. Its an evil courtship between politicians, businessmen and government.

Tengku, for the sake of Malaysia and her people the most effective way for you to turn the tide of degeneration in Malaysia is to throw your support behind Pakatan Rakyat.

It is not ideal but it is built on good intentions and honourable goals. Goals which you in your writings reflect. It was you, dear Tengku, according to historians who brought Anwar Ibrahim into Umno.

If you could not have the chance to be prime minister although you were the legitimate winner then, now help the one whom you brought in decades ago. Your support for Pakatan Rakyat will be much more valued then in the failing Barisan Nasional which has already sidelined you.

Help us young people fulfill our dreams for a better Malaysia.

On BN may face backlash over takeover

Thomas Lee: Those who betray their people will never enjoy peace of mind or happiness for the rest of their days until they repent, reform and return to the true path of righteousness.

By the way, may I suggest that MB Nizar and Ngeh Hoo Ham take the honourable way by returning their datuk-ship as a symbolic gesture of protest if they feel that HRH was wrong in his decision.

I always think it was a big mistake for them to nominate themselves for the datuk-ship just after taking office. It reflects badly on them.

The people who have served for decades and truly deserve such titles are Kit Siang and Karpal but they will not accept such awards as the DAP policy and practice have always been to avoid exposing its leaders to the temptation of power and position.

I understand that Ngeh's datuk-ship was among the reasons some Perak DAP leaders and members were unhappy.

Meanwhile, Hee Yit Foong is not only the first woman to be a deputy speaker, the first polio person to hold such a post, but also, I believe, the first woman to defect. She deserves to be listed in the Malaysia Book of Records.

Vivian Lim: Although this is a time of great sadness and disappointment, I strongly encourage MB Datuk Mohd Nizar and his comrades to not give up.

They have laboured hard and selflessly over the past 10 months. We, the rakyat see this; we, the rakyat truly appreciate your sacrifices for us, and we the rakyat continue to support you.

KL Lau: The Election Commission, in my opinion, has no business entertaining letters from any assembly person or from the public directly, except through the speaker of the assembly or through legitimate authorities as enshrined in the state and federal constitutions.

If there are any doubts about pre-signed resignation letters, the courts should decide. It is apparent the EC is acting outside the scope of its legitimate role.

In the same vein, the sultan has all the right to say ‘no’ to the MB’s request for the dissolution of the state assembly. But it is doubtful if His Highness can direct or order the MB to resign under constitutional procedures.

In view of the above, it is in the interest of the country for the EC or any relevant authority to act within established constitutional roles in performing their duty.

This will help towards a more orderly, peaceful and prosperous Malaysia, especially during this critical time when the country is facing a deep global recession or possibly a prolonged depression.

Ong BK: What recourse do the voters have to counter the possible self-seeking actions by elected representatives under the Malaysian representative democracy?

To cater for such need, some countries (the US, Philippines) have a law for recall of elected representatives provided that a certain significant amount of voters eg 10%, sign a petition to make a request for a re-vote on the position.

So what does it mean for the situation where elected representatives choose to defect against the voters' wishes?

To enforce the deal between the voters and their representatives, voters can by all means start knocking on the representatives' doors at their office or their home.

They can highlight the discrepancies between the voters' wishes and the sellouts made by their `representatives' so that these reps won't be able to get reelected come the next occasion for the voters to exercise their vote.

That is only fair.

Hello: We should avoid a situation where government could change with defections. Defections do not reflect the true spirit of what a truly working democracy should be like.

A few defectors could be easily pressured or given monetary inducement to defect, which Dr Mahathir has rightly pointed out.

Anything that is ‘few’ tends to be not so good, eg, a few judges deciding on a case. On another point, bring back the jury system, as it would be more difficult to pressure or give inducements to many.

Ditto with regard to party elections - better to let people decide on key leadership positions, as in the case of US presidential elections, etc.

Ken Tan: The people who meddle with Perak must know that we have brains. The just will be justly treated. The unjust will definitely pay dearly at the coming election.

Stolen fruits may taste nice but they lead to a very bitter end. To see our Perak government which works for the rakyat being treated in the manner which we see unfolding makes us cringe.

What else is there that BN cannot do to remain in power? Despicable tactics are being employed.

I think we have had enough of corruption, nepotism and cronyism. An election will put to rest who the rakyat wants to lead Perak.

Steven Wong: It is clear that BN is as blind as a bat and has not learnt from its past mistakes.

The rakyat's loss of confidence in BN was clearly shown in many ways over the past year.

If crossovers were to happen from BN over to Pakatan, I, as a rakyat, would welcome it because right now, a change is necessary, period.

But if it were the other way round, like what is happening here in Perak, I, as a rakyat, consider it a horrible thing because it shows how BN is trying to hold onto power and resist change using whatever dirty tactics it could employ to stay in power.

If BN did learn something from the last general election, it is clearly not showing it because it is no longer about who commands the most seats. It is about who has the hearts of the rakyat and right now Pakatan has mine, and I am sure, the hearts of many others.

The more BN tries to hold on to its power, the more power it is losing. BN thinks that the current generation of the rakyat is like that of old that is easily influenced by the propaganda spread through the controlled media.

But I know that we, as the rakyat, are no longer the type that easily forgets and we certainly will not forget this dark episode in Perak.

So friends, even if BN manages to take control of Perak, make sure we do not forget. Let us be steadfast, patient and kick them out for good the next time around.

PT Tan: The recent events in Perak clearly shows that the rakyat need to stand up and be counted.

We continue to live in the fallacy that there will be some savior, some magic potion, some shaman or bomoh somewhere that will cure our ills, just like the way we run to fortune-tellers the moment our personal economies deteriorate.

We must believe in ourselves in that we can make the difference. Start by convincing those who are not registered to vote to do so.

Start by convincing those who did not or could not be bothered to vote to do so. We must make the difference - not politicians, not leaders, not God or in whatever realm the ‘savior’ might be called.

Stephen Ng: Barisan Nasional taking over the state government at this juncture without obtaining the people’s mandate will further jeopardise its position in the next general election.

Malaysian politics is now entering into a dangerous phase with more crossovers in the future.

This is the very reason, I believe, why Anwar Ibrahim deferred his Sept 16 plan. Now, with the BN setting the precedent, there is no reason for him to hold back.

What the Election Commission has done is truly beyond its jurisdiction, when its role should have been only to conduct fair and just elections.

There is also little reason to believe that the state assembly persons were coerced by their colleagues to sign undated resignation letters, since this is a practice by every winning party.

At best, the sultan should listen to the advice of the incumbent menteri besar and order the dissolution of the state assembly.

BR: All's fair in love, war...and politics. Admit it you BN-bashers and Opposition fan boys - PR got beaten at its own game.

As much as I wanted change after the historic March 8 elections and as disgusting and heartwrenching this Perak drama is, the fact is BN out-maneuvered PR this time round.

In fact, come to think of it just what kind of a strategy did a general (aka DSAI) think he was pulling by barking out what he was gambling on to do last year - this without defending his own ground?

So now instead of further BN-bashing in your disbelief, maybe it’s better to demand that PR do a good job at whatever turf they've left and definitely not talk about coups.

As the opposition, it is easy to criticise. Now PR has been given some sandboxes to prove themselves. Is it not better that we see what they can do in the next four years?

In the interest of the country and in fairness of both BN and PR, let's demand for an anti-hopping law.

After all, I elected first of all party X, represented by candidate Y. Heck, I didn't care about who candidate Y was except that s/he was from party X. Now some idiot candidate Y betrayed me by hopping. I am fuming mad.

Anak Perelih: Anwar’s Sept 16 claim was a bluff to save the Perak PR government. The best defense is to attack as if there was no Sept 16 claim, Perak would have fallen earlier.

Why do I call it a bluff? Because to get 30 people is a huge task. That's 21% of BN MPs... impossible la.

He did so just to keep BN busy with their MPs so as to leave Perak alone as Perak had the slimmest majority of all the state governments.

BN only needed to get three people to hop. Which is more easier, three Adun or 30 MPs?

Dawei Shine: What has happened reflects the lack of integrity among politicians in this beautiful land of ours.

We can condemn BN for all we want, but let us not forget the Sept 16 game played by the other side.

Anwar Ibrahim and Najib Razak are just the different faces of the same coin. Toss the

coin. Heads or tails, the people lose.

MW: I think everyone overlooked something in saying Anwar or PR started all this. In fact, Umno started it on the very same night of March 8, 2008 by trying to woo PAS to form joint governments in Selangor, Perak and a few other states.

This was reported in the media and confirmed by BN leaders months later.

I am not saying Anwar is right and BN is wrong. I am saying two wrongs don't make a right and the BN pot have no moral right to call the PR kettle black or vice versa.

Ihsham@Kertih: Why is it when you have won the five states, you just can't stop being greedy and wanted to have a showdown with BN for the federal government on Sept 16?

Then, Anwar failed. Now when he loses Perak he starts the blame game etc. Anwar started it all. BN had lost Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang Kedah and Selangor and they accepted it until a man named Anwar who only says its fair if it benefits PKR.

I don't like what BN did to Perak but am not too happy with the PKR too for playing politics after March 8. Just do your best in the next 2-3 years and maybe you will win the country.

But if you just criticise and play politics and don't care for the rakyat, you have not given the rakyat any viable alternative.

The rakyat would say ‘better the devil we know then the devil we are not sure off’.

Sin Sin Sin: Shame on you DAP and Perakians for your chose a person who does not have any moral values to represent you. Because of you all, she has the opportunity to trade your future for her self gain.

First of all, is she qualified to represent you? It is too late to teach her a lesson in the next election as she does not need your vote anymore as she might have made enough.

If the rumour is true, she would have needed three generations to make that kind of money. All this has been calculated by her for sure.

Thus please, do not lie to yourselves anymore. Be more careful the next time. Because of your carelessness, you have committed a sin by assisting a sinful person to commit a sin.

Msca100785: I'm not a fan of BN, neither a PR follower. But I am really disappointed with PR's stand towards party-hopping.

If they argue that the new Perak state government that will be formed soon is unconstitutional and there is a need for snap elections, then why they did they not ask the Bota assemblyperson to resign?