Swearing at the Swearing-in

Okay, there’s no swearing in this post. I’m just a little edgy, that's all. I guess anyone would feel irritated when political bickering has caused the swearing-in of the new Perak Mentri Besar to be called off. Sure, the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition has ‘amiably’ resolved matters, but will the issue just stop here? Excerpt from Suara Keadilan:

Muafakat Perak Dicapai: 6-3-1, KeADILan: 1 Timbalan MB, 1 Senator

Kuala Lumpur, 14 Mac - Timbalan Presiden KeADILan Dr. Syed Husin hari ini mengesahkan bahawa muafakat telah dicapai berkenaan pembentukkan kerajaan negeri Perak.

Hasil muafakat tersebut adalah Ir. Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin dari PAS akan menjadi Menteri Besar, Ngeh Koo Ham dari DAP akan menjadi Timbalan Menteri Besar Pertama dan jawatan Timbalan Menteri Besar Kedua akan diperuntukkan kepada KeADILan.

Untuk kerusi Exco pula, 6 kerusi akan diperuntukkan untuk DAP, 3 untuk KeADILan dan 1 untuk Pas. Selain itu, satu daripada dua senator yang akan dilantik oleh Perak ke Dewan Negara akan dipilih oleh KeADILan.

To be sure, my irritation stems not just from the supposed ‘cracks’ within the opposition. After all, it must be admitted that even though they are a coalition, DAP, PKR and PAS have different ideologies and methodologies. Given that, it is obvious that they would face a degree of difficulty working together.

Politics aside, much of my irritation stems not just from the jostling between the Barisan Rakyat, but from the way they have turned against the very ideology that they advocated: Bangsa Malaysia.

Perhaps more than good governance and transparency, I feel it is time for us to stop being an amalgamation of races, and truly become a nation.

So when I first heard about Lim Kit Siang’s statement, I had assumed it to be some spin doctoring from the ruling coalition. No way Uncle Lim would come out and say something like that, I thought to myself. It was only later that I found out that this was his official stance, and I must admit I was horrified at it.

I understand that Uncle Lim would be somewhat leery of working with PAS. From his point of view, the failure of Barisan Alternatif in the 1999 elections was predominantly due – no, I don’t think this, I think HE thinks this - to the intractability of PAS. Fast forward 10 years later, it seems that Uncle Lim still holds a grudge against PAS.

Even though many people within DAP broke ranks by voicing their intention to attend the swearing in ceremony, and even though Lim Kit Siang did apologize for his statement, the domino effect from his political stance has since turned into an uproar of racial sentiment which saw the DAP leader disrespect a Malay person as the new Menteri Besar.

Not to be left out, PKR – a multiracial party within the opposition coalition - came up with its own statement in retort which started me grinding my teeth:

(The Star, Friday March 14, 2008): PKR ‘no’ to 8 slots for DAP

PETALING JAYA: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) does not agree to DAP having eight executive councillor posts in the Perak government.

PKR deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali said in a statement that the composition of the state exco must reflect the composition of Perak’s population.

“…In the spirit of sincere openness, we stress that the composition of the exco must reflect the composition of the population of Perak and represent the interests of all ethnic groups fairly. All parties must be sensitive to the hopes and sentiments of the people.”

Wonderful, simply wonderful, I thought to myself. Politics I can understand, but when parties start coming out with statements implying that differing ethnic groups should be ‘fairly represented’ in governments, then the implied meaning behind it, is that as we cannot trust the Malay fellows to look after the interests of the Chinese, and we cannot trust the Chinese fellows to look out for the interests of the Malays.

And God forbid if we trust an Indian fellow, he’ll screw all of us, won’t he?

The perception of the racial divide has grown to the point where there are many people questioning the constitutional stance that requires a Malay to become the Menteri Besar of Perak. Personally, I don’t care if Barack Obama becomes the Menteri Besar so long he is someone that will govern fairly and efficiently.

Now, even with the 'consensus' reached between the opposition coalition, perceptions about the opposition have been skewed. This is compounded by the decision of Raja Dr Nazrin Shah to indefinitely suspend the swearing-in of the new Menteri Besar of Perak:

(The NST, Thursday, 13 March 200): 8 Raja Nazrin orders 31 coalition signatures agreeing to cooperate, Nizar as MB

“In the light of recent developments, it appears to his Royal Highness The Regent of Perak Darul Ridzwan, that there are some uncertainties as to whether the three parties, DAP, PKR, PAS are able to work together to form a coalition, and form a stable government.

“As a consequence, His Royal Highness The Regent of Perak Darul Ridzwan has directed that the appointment and swearing in ceremony of the Menteri Besar scheduled for this afternoon be postponed.” However, the statement did not indicate when the ceremony would be held.

And this is where the waters have become even murkier, with the ruling coalition’s jackals taking full advantage of the situation by implying that the dignity of the Perak monarchy has been impinged upon by the opposition:

Meanwhile, Umno supreme Council member Datuk Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants all political parties in Perak to respect the decision by Istana Iskandariah to defer the swearing-in of the Menteri Besar.

“The decision to postpone the swearing-in must be respected by all political parties in Perak as the sultan is fully aware of the squabbling among DAP, PKR. The bickering can harm the palace’s credibility as an independent institution in the country’s political system of governance to maintain peace and harmony in the state,” he said in a statement today.

So, now things have moved from a political stance, to a racial slight, to an insult on the monarchy. Lovely, isn’t it?

Though it is highly likely that the consensus reached between the opposition coalition today will enable the swearing-in ceremony of the Menteri Besar of Perak to be conducted tomorrow, the domino effect from this will continue to resound within Perak, and most likely the other states for sometime after this.

For debunkers, please do know that while this post does express my displeasure at the actions of the opposition, it is not one that is meant to pull either DAP, PKR or PAS down in any way.

Rather, this episode should be a cautionary tale of how fragile we all really are.