In the past few days, access to Malaysiakini has been difficult. I can imagine just how many anxious Malaysians were for the latest bits of news on the political crisis in Perak.

The bloggers have been particularly busy, posting the latest stories from Malaysiakini and other sites, while offering their own handle on the unfolding drama. Postings from readers are nothing less than a spontaneous explosion of moral outrage.

malaysian law conference 291007 sultan azlan shah 1 When the Sultan of Perak decided to sack the MB and his executive councillors, and swear in the new BN state government, an appeal appeared on RPK’s extremely popular website Malaysia-Today , for readers to abstain remarks that could be construed to be seditious, to help protect RPK from more charges in court. Other bloggers have not been so self-restrained.

The sultan is a revered former top judge in the highest court of the land, and so we all assume that his decision is based on his jurisprudential wisdom. But in discharging his duty as the Malay Ruler in a Malay state, he is also performing his function as a public official as defined by the Federal and the Perak State constitutions.

I am a citizen of this country, and I am entitled to criticise anybody and anything - including myself - respectfully, responsibly, and reasonably. Thank God we still have Malaysiakini!

Selling political allegiance

The Perak crisis arose because of the defection of three Pakatan Rakyat state assemblypersons, who had declared themselves to be independents supporting the BN coalition, while a former Umno rep re-defected back to Umno. Enough has been said to condemn these people, so I will just skip my own feelings of distaste.

Rumours of buying elected representatives are quite believable, because such offers of millions had been made to me during my own political involvement.

Besides, in Sarawak and Sabah, political allegiance has been sold and bought by the highest bidder on many occasions. Sometimes, they are negotiated away en bloc.

Here, there are those who suggest that Pakatan Rakyat should be more careful in selecting their candidates.

It is easier said than done. There are many highly qualified and principled people in Malaysia who would rather remain in the comfort zone of their middle and middle-upper class existence and criticise everybody from the sideline r ather than getting involved in the muddied waters of politics.

The opposition choice of candidates is indeed limited. This is headache facing the PKR in Sarawak and Sabah right no w.

This is the time when proponents of ethnics in public life will mention the need for an anti-hopping law to be enacted in Parliament.

Frankly, I am uncomfortable with any law that tries to legislate ethics and morality strictly. I would rather see the gradual evolution of public morality, through which voters will learn to punish party hoppers in the subsequent elections. Perak may be a good place to start.

najib and sultan azlan bn takeover perak As to the power of the sultan to sack the Perak MB and appoint a new government, the Constitution is silent at the extent of the personal discretion of the ruler on such matters.

In f act, the Perak sultan has just made a new law by establishing through his recent decision a legal precedence on this critical issue.

Critics may argue that such a pr ecedent is good for the Pakatan opposition. When enough BN legislators have crossed over to the Pakatan coalition, Anwar Ibrahim can just go meet the Agong with his stable of parliamentarians, and he can be appointed as the new prime minister of Malaysia.

As it stands now, abusing the Parliament Standing Order means that any motion of no confidence tabled by the opposition can never be discussed, because government business takes precedence over private motions.

Must seek fresh mandate

I also have problems with such a position. Generally, the establishment and the building of a body of parliamentary conventions have to be based on sound philosophical and political principles, as well as observance of local customs, rather than a dependence upon expediency of any one time.

For the establishment of a working constitutional monarchy, I would have liked to see the sultan in any state which would be in Perak shoes today to advise the MB to convene an emergency meeting of the state legislature to confront a vote of no-confidence.

If indeed the MB has lost the confidence of a simple majority of YBs, then he should recommend that the legislature be dissolved to make way for a fresh state election. Then the sultan is obliged to act on his advice and announce the state assembly so dissolved.

This would reinforce the position of the legislative assembly of the people’s elected representatives as the highest political forum of the land expressing the sacrosanct general will of the people. If this has happened in Perak, it would set a valuable democratic precedent for the whole country.

In 1966, the governor in my home state of Sarawak sacked the then chief minister Stephen Kalong Ningkan, who went to court and had the decision overturned. Finally, he was removed by a declaration of state of Emergency and a draconian amendment to the federal constitution.

For the sake of argument, let us say that the Perak case is brought to court to seek a declaration that the Election Commission’s decision to refuse the resignation letters from the two PKR defectors is null and void.

There would be two by-elections if the court decides that it is indeed so. The fragile new BN government would be in jeopardy, making the political situation even more volatile.

Then again, the dislodged Perak MB may also go to court to seek reinstatement on the basis that his dismissal from office has been ultra vires and invalid.

The judicial system would be plunged into a quandary, and the prolonged uncertainty would not enhance the prestige of the royalties. There would be a constitutional crisis, which will not help our count ry that has found itself in the midst of a grim global economic crisis.

If a snap general election has been called in Perak to seek the mandate of all residents of the silver state, all the above negative scenarios would have become academic in one fell sweep!

The unfolding drama in Perak is proof once again of the uglier side of public life in Malaysia: many politicians on both sides of the power equation seek public office out of personal greed for power and wealth. Party hopping can also arise from the inability of political parties to contain and ameliorate internal dissent.

Moral obligation to contribute

But this is also a cancerous phenomenon that can infect the most developed democracy in the world. The recent dismissal of the Illinois Governor with the un pronounceable name for corruption is a case in point.

I suppose we have to live with this form of political opportunism just like other democracies of the world. The only way forward is for all of us to educate our young to nurture a sense of moral outrage that can be translated into political actions, first by registering them as voters, and then getting them actively involved in the participatory process of democracy in various ways.

The worst reaction is to retreat further into the cocoon of hardened cynicism, migrate overseas, or merely remaining apathetic to all things political. We have all been nurtured and educated by this country despite all the bad politics, and so we all have the moral obligation to contribute something back to the betterment of all future Malaysians.

The unpalatable business going on in Perak affects us all. It shows once again that during this difficult period of transition in the history of Malaysia, the road to democratic enlightenment is full of traps and pitfalls. Reform will never come easy and cheap.

najib pc on bn takeover of perak state with 4 aduns 050209 03 Those who thought that change in Malaysia could come overnight may do well to be prepared for a long haul ahead. History has often shown that those in power will not willingly surrender their monopoly on the control of appropriating resources.

That power has to be wrenched from the clenched fists, a little at a time, until they fall. Fall they will, because no political ruling class can rule forever!

I saw how jubilant Najib Abdul Razak was on TV when he announced the coup detat in Perak. His joy may be all too premature. The perfect storm did not hit Malaysian shores on March 8, 2008. It lies somewhere ahead.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian political sea shall remain stormy for a while in the immediate future. Expect the unexpected, and dig deep trenches.

SIM KWANG YANG was MP for Bandar Kuching from 1982 to 1995. He can be reached at kenyalang578@hotmail.com.