For the love of the sultan
Why BN-installed MB should dissolve assembly
To prevent embarrassment to the palace, the best solution is for the BN-installed Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir to request for dissolution of the assembly. That would make the Pakatan Rakyat's constitutional suit academic.
By Wong Chin Huat, The Nut Graph
AS in most other monarchies, Malaysians have been taught to love king and country. But rarely have we asked or been told why. This appeared to be okay until innocence was lost. For some of us, this occurred during the recent Perak crisis; for others, it could have occurred earlier. While innocence lost cannot be regained, it can be replaced with enlightened reconciliation and reasoned affection.
Enlightened reconciliation and reasoned affection — this is what is most urgently needed in Perak. This is especially true after a recent Merdeka Centre poll revealed that 74% of 507 Perak voters feel "the state assembly should be dissolved to pave the way for elections."
Like the democratically elected Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, they have begged to differ with the sultan. In polite court address, they too have "menyembah mohon derhaka".
Deputy Umno youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and his supporters have suggested banishment for people who "defy" the monarch. Well, then, Perak's neighbouring states — Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Selangor, and Barisan Nasional (BN)-ruled Pahang — should be prepared to accept 882,953 political refugees, or 74% of Perak's total electorate in the last elections. Ipoh would be a ghost town.
Dignified and efficient
Now is the time for Malaysians to truly understand why we should love the constitutional monarchy as we know it from its British or European origins.
