When all 4 pillars of democracy have crumbled, the only hope is for the 5th pillar to withstand!

In the midst of our Perak crisis, I said “our” is because there is now no distinction between Perakians, Sabahans, Sarawakians etc., but we are now all Perakians where the rule of law and our Constitution is concerned.

Despite the overall passionate plea of the Rakyat towards the last hope of the institution of democracy, it had proven futile and had fallen on deaf ears. These 4 pillars or rather institutions, which we have had for the past 51 years, one which we once prided ourselves as a Constitutional Monarchy and accoladed with the envy of many countries as the “best” multi-racial country in the world, where people of all ethnics were able to live harmoniously with all races.

I am a Perakian by birth and educated by one of the most renowned missionary schools in our land and now seeking my professional progress and pastures in the capital. I had on one accidental incident received an email from an unknown person to explore a video on YouTube entitled, “The legitimate Menteri Besar (MB) of Perak vows to fight on for the rights of the Rakyat till his last drop of blood”. I was initially offended by this caption as I could never forget the eerie threat by one former UMNO Youth Leader along such similar lines. Out of curiosity and a little of intrigue, I clicked onto the link to observe his comments.

I was truly taken aback by his professionalism and composure despite his impending “dismissal” by our once respected former Agong and present Sultan of Perak. YAB Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar has impeccably stood out as one of the most respected statesman and servant our country has ever seen. On one hand, he gave utmost respect to the sultan (whose name which all of a sudden I cannot recall) yet at that very juncture he withheld his composure with such compassion and told the media that he will remain as the MB of Perak for the sake of justice and for the Perakians who had given him the mandate to rule and govern within the parameters of law. With such profound comments and without an iota of doubt he won millions of supporters and sympathizers internally, regionally and possibly globally! His immaculate tone of conviction to fight for justice and fairness spoke volumes of his persistence to protect the interests of the Rakyat at the expense of his personal and family safety which we dare the Umnoputras to emulate.

My salutations to you, my beloved YAB, and I am penning my thoughts with tears flowing onto my notebook not because I am an emotional person but I believe many Malaysians share my distraught and despair at the degrading downslides of politics!

So much for the introduction of my correspondence here. The point which I desire to raise to all Perakians cum Malaysians is, we must not despair or be disheartened as there is still a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel. A hope of a new Malaysia, a new era of equality for all Malaysians! All such events that had unfolded so dramatically for the past week are not in vain as we believe God permits such happenings to work for the greater good at the proper time and according to his perfect discourse.

The doctrine of the separation of powers which the Sultan and his prince had espoused, namely the Legislature (Parliament), The Executive (Legitimate Government), The Judiciary and The Monarchy as in the words of the Perak’s Sultan’s son provides a check and balance for democracy to exist. I must emphasize to the royal family that you have erred in your decision and did not uphold the rights of Perakians cum Malaysians when you gave and sold “your state” on a platter to BN minus the 5th Pillar of democracy. Insomuch as the doctrine of separation of powers of which Your Highness is amongst them, you have ignored the pleas of the 5th Pillar/institution which is the Power of the People. Even though you have abandoned the precepts of democracy in the eyes of the world, there is still hope for the layman where there is still an invisible 5th Pillar that will withstand the test of time and which our fore Prime Ministers had envisioned, fought, struggled and protected at all costs against our colonial masters in order to muster our sanctified Independence!

The first 2 pillars of democracy are presently at loggerheads. The 3rd Pillar (The Judiciary), though succinct, undergoes truly tedious processes when time is of the essence. The 4th Pillar has now apparently lost its credibility and in the eyes of the hidden 5th Pillar have failed to convince the people that it is impartial. Someone just commented in the media that this 4th Pillar has absolute powers to decide which many of us will beg and implore to differ.

It is now to the 5th and unseen last pillar to uphold the sanctity of our Constitutional Monarchy. This 5th Pillar cannot be indifferent nor partisan as our country can ill afford to prolong this impasse lest our economy dithers into oblivion and be listed amongst the most underdeveloped 3rd World nations and insignificant to be on the radar screen of foreign direct investments. On this aspect, the Rakyat must, without reservations, relay this pertinent message to the political powers of both divides that we are losing our patience and tolerance is about to spit out our displeasure. The power of the people can never be discounted as “WE” the 5th Pillar/institution are the ones who placed the people in power to serve the Rakyat and not to lord over us!

Due to the political hegemony within BN which the Umno people consider themselves the outright divine rulers of Malaysia, faultless; impeccable; and unchallenged, the pipeline of authority must never be broken by the 3 other institutions. So much so, the segregation of powers remain an illusion rather than a “wawasan” which Malaysians should be pursuing to realize the tenets/pillars that hold our country to withstand the onslaught of globalization or rather in simple terms, colonization through financial means. This is now the time to review your ideology as the 5th Pillar had imputed the message on that fateful day of March 08, 2008 that BN is UMNO and UMNO is BN; no other component party is worthy of mention.

I call on the 5th Pillar to rally behind our legitimate and elected Menteri Besar of Perak YAB Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar without conditions, endorse, support and back his Exco, not necessarily to the last drop of our blood but to our last drop of sweat! We also implore to counter at the same time our economic woes and hope our Monarchy hearken to the voice of your subjects that we desire snap elections to resolve the political impasse which has sapped our resources which could have been placed for better use. Meanwhile, the 5th Pillar should not lose heart. Raise your displeasure in an orderly and subjective manner within our laws; assemble without arms; or send your petitions to our Agung since he is the sovereign Head over this Sultan; but above all, do not forget this God-Fearing MB of Perak who risked his dignity, life and family for the sake of Perakians.

The power of the people cannot be dismissed nor discounted and though the government may endeavor to divide and rule us, the infallible doctrine of democracy – a government by the people and for the people -should and will decide the fate of our land.

A humble former subject of Perak but now a Pest Controller of 2 legged Political Pests