I refer to Malaysiakini report Sivakumar dragged out, BN speaker takes ove r.

It was pure madness what happened in the legislative halls of Perak where the incumbent speaker was removed from his chair by force to be replaced by one from the BN state government. A speaker being dragged out of his chair by police officers has never happened before and this does not bode well for our democratic principles in this country

Outside the halls, the police arrested dozen of oppositions leader and their supporters and this makes one wonder whether our country is a police state where people can be arrested for exercising their democratic rights.

Now that the BN has managed to assert their power in the Perak state assembly and put their own nominee as speaker, they are now in full control of the state government. But at what price?

The brute force displayed by the BN lawmakers in bulldozing their way to remove the incumbent speaker will only antagonise the common people who believe in fair play. Support for the opposition front will increase tenfold after this shameful incident and come the next general elections, BN will be history in the Silver State as well as other states in this country.

How the present regime can run the state without getting the mandate from the electorate in the last polls makes a mockery of the democratic principle under which the people are allowed to choose the government of their choice rather than being cheated of their inherent right by political maneuvering by BN which is morally wrong .

With worldwide coverage of the Perak assembly hall being given prominence by the foreign press and media, people outside this country might think that Malaysians are a primitive lot who do not practice democracy freely and fairly.

The way the former speaker was removed from his chair's forcefully is reminiscent of other despots who use underhanded methods to run down their political opponents. We won't find such rubbish in other civilised and modern nations where decorum and respect for the speaker's chair is paramount and lawmakers are on their best behavior while in the august hall.

Yes, BN has won the battle of wits to remove the speaker by unethical methods but the people will never forget this shameful incident which will be etched in their minds forever. Come the next polls, where people are allowed to votes, Zambry and gang will be consigned to the history no matter how good they govern the state in the next few years.

People always love to support the underdogs and with ground sentiments still against the present regime, it will be an uphill battle for the present government to win the hearts and minds of the public to support them like before.

Democracy as what is being practiced in this country is under threat by powerful forces who do not want to lose power but will use all the tricks in the book to remain in power forever. But these despots never learnt the history of the past when dictators were removed from office after losing the people's support.

Remember the fate of Suharto of Indonesia, Marcos of the Philippines, and Saddam Hussein of Iraq all who fell from grace after ruling their countries with an iron fist? This should send a shiver down the spines of our leaders who still think that the people can be fooled all the time by the corrupt government.

Times change but leaders who are corrupt will never change their attitude for the better and sooner or later the people will revolt against them. Those who failed to learn from history will repeat the same mistakes as other before them.