Najib's Rule of Three

The big bad wolf at Perak’s doors.

HRH the Sultan of Perak has proclaimed that there shall be no dissolution of the state assembly. Before the Sultan made his decision, Nizar the MB said, he believed HRH Sultan will make a just decision. Now that a decision has been made and it is not favourable to PKR government, why are they conducting themselves in defiance? It seems to me, according to PKR’s definition, a decision is just if it is favourable to them.
Many people were less than enamoured at the way UMNO got the government in Perak. I did an article on that, following the footsteps of greater political luminaries such as Tun Mahathir and Tengku Razaleigh. While Tun Mahathir points towards the fragility and vulnerability of an UMNO which takes in questionable characters into its bosom, Tengku Razaleigh has been more direct and forthright in telling the wrongness of the whole thing, ab initio.
Yes, the whole drama strikes at political decencies. It has shaken the foundations of democracy when one of its most important pillars, which is the election of a government through the ballot box is abandoned.

Now that HRH the Sultan has decided, we must keep our peace. There must be compelling public policy reasons as to why HRH the Sultan of Perak decided on such a course. A government, which is continually exposed and threatened by the vagaries of volatile loyalties, can never serve the rakyat. An unstable government is not good for Perak.
The PKR government is one such government. Its ability to rule is continuously being threatened by its own scorched earth policies which have proven very divisive. Nizar’s defence of his land policies for example, under the guise of ,’we must be fair’ has not gone well with the Malays as well as even the Perak Palace. Nizar must have ignored the subtle signals from the Palace regarding this particular issue. I think it was HRH Raja Muda who spoke about this by way of using Felda as an example. To make matters worse, the perception that Nizar is but a puppet in the hands of the Ngeh-Ngah twin terrors of chauvinism, is sufficient to keep Perak on perpetual tension.

This political episode shows a side of Najib rarely seen. Having beaten Anwar at his own game, there are a few lessons that must be learned by political novices like Nizar. Nizar’s only weapon, was essentially his reliance on the reservoir of support from the rakyat which he hoped was sufficient to persuade HRH Sultan Perak to decide in his favour. But that reservoir of support remains in potential. Unless it can be translated into (a) a popular vote through elections or (b) through representation by the elected assemblymen, NIzar’s claim of the rakyat’s backing remained, just that, something in potential. He is denied the first option and he lost on the second.
What he needed was proof that he has the confidence of the majority of the assemblymen. Clearly he did not and could not show proof of that.
Najib on the other hand, showed his carefully planned course of action. He must have known or was counselled that HRH Sultan could be persuaded to decide in BN’s favour, if proof can be shown. He therefore corralled all the 28 +3 friendlies to assemble at the Perak Istana and produced the proof that BN commands confidence of the majority. That was a better and deciding move. Where Nizar came with a handful of party leaders, Najib came with the people who matter. Najib was able to show BN commands the bigger support of the house, Nizar could not.
Now the big bad wolf is assembling thousands of people in a mammoth assembly to save the imperilled government. The slogan is save the Perak/PKR government. That is very good, but self destructing. Public policy reasons of not having a dissolution must have been high on HRH’s Sultan Perak’s decision than having a dissolution.
What has Najib done? By assembling the majority of state law makers under BN’s leadership and presenting them as a united front against NIzar’s claim in the form of a potential, Najib has made a brick house for himself. The big bad wolf in the form of Anwar can huff and puff while Najib can say, not by the hair of his chinny chin chin.
In Permatang Pauh,Najib made himself a house of straw. Big bad wolf entered the house and ate him. In Kuala Terengganu,Najib made himself a house of sticks which was stronger. But the big bad wolf entered it still and ate him. In Perak, Najib has made himself a house made from bricks. Anwar is trying to enter through the chimney, but Najib has a cauldron of boiling water waiting. Najib can say, not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.