Perak's Political Pirouette.

The Perak Mess.

yesterday,was a very unsettling day. I first received an sms saying that PM2B is set to announce the formation of a new Perak Government. At 4 pm yesterday. next came smses that said Nizar, the Perak MB is announcing the dissolution of the PerakDUN. One sms ended with the caustic remark- sape cepat la beb.this of course refers to who will cross the line first. yesterday, the race was between the pengerusi perhubungan Perak and the Perak MB.

then yesterday night, we were entertained on TV with a beaming PM2B with the king of frogs( the man from Bota), the two PKR defectors and the emotionally hurt,deputy speaker of the Perak DUN. the writings are on the wall for the PKR government in Perak. the 4 friendlies entry into BN,3 into UMNO and 1 probably into MCA is just a formality.

I think those who subscribe to the ideals of democracy are a dying breed. nowadays, it seems that only romantics are keen to observe the niceties of democracy. by that i mean,subscribing to the idea that the way to displace a government is via the ballot box, where the rule of law is respected, the wishes of the majority observed. it looks like all these things are just garnishes and condiments. in the end, the ends justifies the means.

the majority of umno operatives are able to say unashamedly and facetiously, that it was anwar who started it. yes he did, that was why we denounced him for that. just because anwar did it, it is all right that we also do it?. that man has no scruples.

when i wrote the article UMNO's Hall of inFamy, i said the people will gravitate towards a Nik Aziz or will now adopt the lion of Jelutong as the political icon. it was he alone that resisted the idea of taking power through unconstitutional means,when anwar was floating the idea. i was clearly wrong here- there are so many right thinking people in Malaysia who find this latest sleight of hand political trick particularly loathsome.

The Perak pirouette on Najib.

my first reaction to the fall of the Perak government, was the PM2B accomplished what he could not by the ballot box through a politically devious means.he or his agents,must have done a threat of altantuya-ing, bala-eing, on these fellows. he has made Don Corleone looked like a sissy.

but my own assessment as to how Najib and BN achieved this end is closer to a local example. how the renegades were coerced is like the Chinese logger deals with forest rangers in Pahang.the chinese towkay invites the rangers and casually places on the table, a gun on one side and a wad of RM notes on the other. that is the local version of an offer nobody wants to refuse.

what does this episode show? it shows that Najib is nor partial to playing dirty. when it comes to the crunch, he will do it especially if it furthers his political interests. maybe the one redeeming feature of this episode in our political drama is, after this, sivaji Anwar will never underestimate Najib anymore. Najib has beaten anwar at his own game.

so i ask the pkr people, not to be bashful and sanctimonious. admit it; when the sivaji pedalled the idea of taking over the government by the crossovers of BN lawmakers, the PKR supporters regarded his maneuverings as deft moves. they were ready to elevate anwar into the most profound master tactician. and so, Najib should be accorded the same adulation.

with Najib, Anwar eats humble pie,managing only a dry remark, than the BN is trying to form a government by hook or crook, more by crook. why is it, that if the idea came from him,it is morally justifiable but from others, morally reprehensible? obviously, Anwar is not a good moral adjudicator.

this single move will increase the value of najib's political stock.this will erase his embarrassing defeats in Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu. that will establish his political dominance in UMNO not in terms of profound political thoughts or exemplary righteousness but in terms of political ruthlessness. undoubtedly,Najib will be seen as the man UMNO needs.

but before we go out to paint the town red and uncorking the wine bottles, let us analyse further.

indeed what Najib does is a political coup shaming and beating anwar at his own devious game. however, i wouldn't go as far as to elevate Najib to the status of a political grand conjurer. he was able to corner those 4 renegades simply because they have lent themselves, susceptible to political blackmail. thus to persuade and encourage people with a rotten core is fairly easy. the initiator who pushes the pillow to an already sleepy head, hardly merits to be called a sensational lullaby singer.

The man from Bota is easiest to handle. he was a former Feclra chairman, an institution better known for conferring sudden wealth to the post holder. is it a coincidence, that many Perakians served as chairman of Felcra?previous chairmen of Felcra are hardly moral luminaries- Hamzah Zainuddin is a known Najib's lackey, Nasarudin Bota and now Tajudin Rahman. the point here, these people have too many skeletons in their closets. if i were Najib, all i need to do, is to display Nasaruddin's Felcra's records and thereafter persuade him to do a pirouette. no big deal. the only thing is, all this while, i thought when snakes copulate, they entwined themselves literally into knots. now i know, those entwines are nothing compared to Nasaruddin's political pirouette.