COMMENT | There is an age-old Chinese saying that best suits the ambiguous sentiment prompted by the recent political shenanigans in Perak: "Don't know whether to laugh or cry."

His dignity wouldn't have allowed Sultan Nazrin Shah to cry, but he made it clear that a third change of state political leadership in two-and-a-half years was no laughing matter, but a failure of leadership.

The sultan evoked a cast of characters who may seem melodramatically coloured – greedy, two-faced, self-serving people, whispering praise, concealing motives – except that his portrait rings true as having been soberly, sadly considered. Malaysians have had too, too many examples to not be believers that such low-lives exist.

The whole episode was a classic farce - remove Ahmad Faizal Azumu as menteri besar with an embarrassing slap-in-the-face for the Bersatu majority.

Bersatu, understandably, was in a blue funk and wouldn't want to be near an Umno-led government, so Umno made it clear it was open to an understanding with all parties...