The country woke-up to a new dimension in political history after the March 8, 2008 elections. The country was not the same anymore. It appears it will never be.

The unsettled situation in the country is now focused on Perak where a political drama is being played out in a vehement manner. That it will have severe political reverberations is undoubtedly a fact that all Malaysians have to take stock of.

Perak has a history, a history that has a beginning and that has many of us worried in that what happened in Perak may ultimately cast a wider effect not too much to our liking and interest, not especially when we are faced with dire economic uncertainties.

It was in Perak, through the Pangkor Treaty of 1874, that the British influence started in the Federated Malay States. A blot on our history, it diluted the powers and influence of the state rulers beyond repair and from then on, the powers of the rulers were never the same, even after independence in 1957

When the previous premier, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, continued to curtail further the powers of the sultans, it was as if he went for their jugular, removing their immunity from being sued with a specially constituted court of law. In short, he reminded them that they were not above the law.

Soon after the recent elections, there was widespread belief that some of the removed powers of the royalty will be restored and the rakyat seemed to welcome it.

The argument was mostly centred on the premise that the royalty shall act as the fourth pillar of justice, a sort of check-and-balance when trust and confidence in the state’s institutions were lacking.

In the midst of all this, the Perak royalty, particularly its charismatic prince, Raja Nazrin Shah had become the hero and role model for many Malaysians.

Such was the popularity and the regard for him that when the DAP was bickering with positions in the aftermath of the March 2008 elections, the rakyat of all races, including the Chinese, told them to just ‘shut-up’ and listen and abide by the ruler’s wishes.

Even Lim Kit Siang was not spared with many of his own fans chastising him for not toeing the line.

However, the ugly scene immediately prior to the recent swearing-in of the eleventh Perak menteri besar underscores the changed set of circumstances. Pelted by an angry crowd, riot police had to forcefully intervene to remove the rioters from Raja Nazrin’s car.

Such an angry response against the royalty would have been unimaginable a few weeks ago. What led to this sudden change of heart? The rakyat believe that there was an implicit unfairness in the way the sultan handled this matter.

It may be a perception but the haste in which the new government was installed and the autocratic manner in which this was done certainly did not help.

Backed by a chorus of opposition from many, including from a famous royalty, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, and from Transparency International and even Suhakam, the call has been for a fresh mandate from the people of Perak to decide their destiny has been loud.

My humble opinion is that the sultan should have left it to the state legislative assembly to take a vote on this. Not only would this would have appeased the rakyat , but also there would be a common acceptance that the royalty has not taken sides.

As I mentioned earlier, this may be a perception, but alas, it is incumbent upon the royalty that they understands the ‘pulse’ of the rakyat . Great haste is great waste, so goes an English saying. Even if Sultan Azlan Shah wants to revise or reverse the earlier decision, he may have little or no choice at all as that would spark another frenzy.

The many vile remarks in the various blogs are quite distasteful. The good work done by Raja Nazrin had captured the hearts of ordinary’Malaysians and this now stands challenged unless the mandate is returned to the Perak people to decide who they want to choose as their leaders.

Perak has now become a hotbed for dissent and discord, like the times before the events leading to the Pangkor Treaty.

Of course, we are not going to have another Pangkor Treaty but who can tell what will happen in Malaysian politics these murky days. I hope that sense and justice will prevail.