Perak Oh Perak

Hardly a week passes by without a politically explosive news hitting the headlines.

The previous week was about the death of A.Kugan in police custody. Last week it was about the Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim jumping ship from BN to Pakatan.

This week is all about Changkat Jering assemblyman Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu and Behrang Assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi.

They were both declared to have vacated their seats by the Perak Speaker V. Sivakumar, only to be denied by the two involved. They have both now declared themselves as independents. The Election Commission has declined to declare both seats as vacant. No by-elections. In the meantime DAP has given the EC 48 hours to rescind its decision.

The drama is still unfolding as I am writing this. We do not know what is going to happen today or in the next few days. Rumours are going around that there will be more defection, that Pakatan will ask for a dissolution of the Perak state assembly, that BN will form a new state government with more 'defectors' joining its fold etc, etc.

What have we descended into? I still remember clearly the day George W. Bush was declared the winner of the 2000 Presidential Election by the narrowest of margin. Although Al Gore received the majority of popular votes, he abided by the wishes of the people as translated by the system. George W. Bush's authority as President nor his right to rule were never once challenged by the margin of his victory (of course the fact that he was one of the worst US President in living memory is another matter).

Recently, when John McCain, a decorated war hero lost to a ' newcomer' Barrack Hussein Obama, he called all Americans to come together to work with the new President. He said "he is President of the United Sates, he is my President". That is the integrity of those that uphold the system and respect the wishes of the people.

Unfortunately, we in Malaysia have succumbed to the low level of politics seen in the less developed third world countries where party-hopping is the norm and the will of the people is twisted through back-door negotiations.

I am strongly against party-hopping and believe that every elected representative must stand in the ticket he was voted in. Alternatively, he should vacate his seat and seek a fresh mandate if he is unable to see eye to eye with his party. The will of the people expressed through the ballot must be respected by all, regardless of the margin of victory. That is the system. And everyone should abide by it, not only when it is convenient. In the long run, it benefits everyone.

However, the present state of confusion and uncertainty in Perak has been brought upon itself by PKR. Anwar started the ball rolling (and much to the excitement of his supporters who saw him as the 'saviour' of democracy in Malaysia) by declaring that he would form a new Federal government through defection of BN MPs by 16th September, 2008. Nothing came out of it except that Pakatan lost its moral high ground.

Last week Pakatan shot shot itself in the foot when it gleefully accepted Datuk Nasaruddin's defection to Pakatan. No questions asked about whether the voters voted for him or the party he represented. No calls for a fresh mandate.

What goes around comes around. Now Pakatan's Perak government is hanging by a thread. It can't object based on principles as it had none to begin with.

At least PAS and DAP had the sense of fair play when they decided not to be too carried away with Anwar's promise of a new government through defection. BN had the good sense not to 'entice' PAS assemblymen in Kelantan to defect when PAS held that state by a single majority between 2004-2008. That's fair play.

Anyway, the global economic meltdown has begun to wash on our shores. Some have just received their notice of termination. Many more will get theirs as factories close and companies cut back on their operations.

Many families will lose their home due to foreclosures and banks will collapse. Some banks and companies inevitably will be rescued with tax-payers money.

We need a steady captain in the form of a strong government to weather this storm. And everyone must do their part to see through the difficult times ahead. This needs concentrated and concerted effort. We can't do it if we are too busy politicking and pulling the rug under each other's feet.

Lets focus as a nation on how best to overcome the current economic turmoil. Lets play by the rules and let politics work itself out. Thank you.

Murugesan Sinnandavar

Merger Push in Perak

I read with interest on the merger talk between PAS and UMNO to form a new Perak State Government in the NST today. The Perak Barisan Nasional chief Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali was ‘magnanimous’ enough to offer the post of Menteri Besar to PAS. Probably the talk of the merger is the result of earlier secret talks between Pas and UMNO on the Malay unity agenda.

As much as I would like to see the BN wrestle back the five states held by the opposition, I don’t agree that it should be done through such back door methods.

First of all, the people have spoken through the ballot box in the last general election. Not only did they vote for the candidate, they voted for the party AND the coalition. That being the case, we should all respect the people’s choice and not try to reshuffle the cards after the event.

Both Pas and UMNO must bear in mind that it was not only the Malays that voted them in. Both parties received votes from all races through the coalition mechanism. PAS especially enjoyed an unprecedented amount of goodwill from the Chinese and Indian voters in the last general election.

PAS and UMNO had different agendas, different priorities and belonged to different coalitions when they went into the 12^th General Election. The votes they received were cast based on the two different corners that they fought from. That being the case, won’t their action now tantamount to a betrayal of trust of both the voters and their coalition partners?

Forming a government through such back door tactics will erode the confidence of our people on the very political process in this country.

Just as much as I am opposed to Dato Seri Anwar’s idea of forming a Federal Government through defection of BN MPs, I am opposed to forming a state government in Perak through the so called merger of PAS and UMNO.

At best it would be a marriage of convenience, at worst it would be abandoning the principles of consensus upon which the Barisan Nasional had been built upon.

Would PAS abandon its stated mission of forming an Islamic State or UMNO concede to PAS’s pressure to form such a state? What about the wishes of voters that chose them based on their opposing manifestos? What about the bond of understanding of partners that fought along their side?

PAS and UMNO must make it clear if they are willing to break ranks with their coalition partners so everyone will know where they stand. In any event PAS and UMNO, by their conduct, had lost the moral high ground to question any coalition partner on their loyalty to the coalition.

Another dark cloud that hangs over this whole episode of PAS-UMNO merger is the question as to whether this will push our nation into the abyss of blatant racial politics. God forbids if this were to happen as there won’t be turning back and Malaysia will be consigned to join the ranks of some of the worst countries in Africa.

It is in the best interest of our political system, our people and our nation that both PAS and UMNO return to the business of good governance and win back the confidence of the electorate through their performance instead of attempting to run circles around the system by forming a ‘secret pact’.

Please concentrate on the Nation Agenda instead of any narrow racial or religious agenda.

Murugesan Sinnandavar