Look, it’s a new ball game in Perak
(The Edge) There is no mistaking the trend of events that is unfolding in Perak, and it sure looks like a downward spiral. Although Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir was declared the rightful menteri besar by the Appeals Court last Friday, the latest developments show that it will take more than a court declaration to bring stability back to the state.
Consider that Zambry's rival for the post, the Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has acquired an aura of public acceptability by virtue of a number of pro-people measures that his government had taken during the year-long PR rule of Perak.
The granting of land titles to people who had to wait for the pleasure of the authorities to renew their temporary occupation licences was one such coup de grace.
Another is the introduction of elections for village development committees, where the long-held practice was a system of political appointments that fostered a dependency on the powers-that be.
As a result, a significant section of the voters sympathise with Nizar, as he proved by winning the Bukit Gantang by-election in April with an improved majority over his predecessor in that seat.
That sentiment has rubbed off on the PR coalition, which the court decision for Zambry hardly diminished. This is politics, where perceptions matter, and those who heard the crowd express their support for Nizar at the Palace of Justice despite the unanimous Appeals court decision against him, would be inclined to favour the calm leader from PAS in the current contest for hearts and minds.
Mindful of this, the PR will be likely to have drawn up an extended programme of events to deepen the public's sympathy for its cause. In doing so, it is only fulfilling its role as a political organisation. Symbolic gestures can create a powerful bonding among otherwise disparate groups. So the predictable choice of the colours black and yellow to create solidarity among opponents of the BN was a first step. Candlelight vigils have followed, and now a hunger strike.
Against these benign gestures, the police's pre-emptive security responses in the Perak arena create the impression of an intolerant administration at best, or a repressive one, for those who remember the inhospitable mood of earlier decades. Nevertheless, come election time, the voting public seemed almost over-eager to forget that civil liberties were tread underfoot like so much grass, returning the BN with thumping majorities, one general election after another.
Today, that is no longer a given, as the results of the March 8 general election, and every by-election in the peninsula afterwards have shown. Like the BN, the police may be getting a dose of public sentiment that it is unaccustomed to seeing. Hopefully, the learning curve will begin to reach upwards before long.
