Perak pakatan begins to assess election preparedness
By Wong Choon Mei, Suara Keadilan
Perak Pakatan Rakyat is expecting arch rivals Umno-BN to call a snap election soon to prevent the fallout from its disastrous coup d’etat from spreading to other states and further marring the people’s confidence in Prime Minister Najib Razak.
“We are looking at September,” PKR vice president Lee Boon Chye told Suara Keadilan.
“In fact, we are holding a meeting today to evaluate the state of our preparedness for such an event.”
The Gopeng MP is the latest in a line of leaders from both the Pakatan and the Umno-BN itself to make such a prediction.
Najib, who was the architect of the February power grab, has however ridiculed such a call, refusing to heed the wishes of the Perak folk. But the political damage he has suffered as a consequence may be too great for him and his minders to ignore.
A survey released on Monday showed that after two months in office, he only has an approval rating of 45 percent, the lowest ever among the six prime ministers who have led Malaysia since independence from British rule in 1957.
Urban Malaysians fear long-lasting damage to the credibility of the country’s judiciary, while rural folk increasingly grumble about the lack of economic improvement in their lives.
Both groups worry that he will leave the country trashed and looted, in a far worse condition than any of his predecessors.
So far Najib’s response to dissent has been to use the police to carry out his will. Harsh crackdowns against civilian protests, even peaceful hunger strikes, have annoyed Malaysians. Thanks to his tacit empowerment, the police too have become too big for their boots, drawing fire for intimidation and flagrant abuse of their authority.
“We will continue to carry out ceramahs and meet-the-people sessions. They are scared but they are also concerned. They won’t show it because the fear has gone underground, but believe me, they want to know what is going on,” said Boon Chye.
For how long can you turn Malaysia into a Zimbabwe?
Perak is the second largest state in Peninsular Malaysia, with large pockets of Chinese and Indian population.
It has been plunged into political and economic turmoil ever since February when Najib, with the consent of the Sultan, pushed out the Pakatan administration led by PAS leader Nizar Jamaluddin.
With might of his federal office behind him, Najib has resorted to all ways and means – mostly foul and underhanded – to defeat the Pakatan’s fightback.
Neither police nor the courts have been spared, with both apparatus roped in to support his political will at expense of neutrality and fair-play.
A High Court ruling declaring Nizar the rightful Menteri Besar was quickly and controversially overturned by the Appeals Court.
And while the High Court ruling was backed by a 78-page judgement, the three-man bench at the Appeals Court only gave a super-short five-minute oral verdict.
“They said within one week but so far nothing,” said Perak DAP chairman Ngeh Koo Ham, referring to the written judgement the Appeals Court had on May 22 announced that it would be releasing.
Nizar plans to take the case to the Federal Court, although both he and other leaders in the country – from both the political and legal arena – agree that the answer lies with the people and can be decided only by fresh state-wide election.
“At the end of the day, I think we all know that it is not the courts but the people who should decide. This is not a legal but a political problem. Of course, Najib can insist on clinging on even at the expense of the people and his own political prestige,” Boon Chye said.
“You see, he can use force to get his way. But for how long will Malaysians allow him to turn the country into a Zimbabwe or Myanmar. This is is something he needs to open his eyes to and not fool himself into believing that he is really that all-powerful or that it can be forever.”
