BN's Perak takeover may cost

Najib dearly Still, tone of comments across the country suggests he may have scored big with his party

By PAULINE NG
IN KUALA LUMPUR

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BARISAN Nasional, or rather Umno, appears to have underestimated the backlash arising from the backdoor takeover of the Perak state government last week if the anger over the past few days are of any indication.

Taking it lying down: A protester trying to stop VIPs from going to the palace for the swearing-in of the new Perak state chief minister

The silver state is now saddled with two chief ministers - BN's Zambry Abdul Kadir and Pakatan Rakyat's Nizar Jamaluddin who will not stand down as he maintains that Perak Sultan Azlan Shah had acted unconstitutionally in demanding his resignation.

Lawyers are divided as to whether the state has been thrown into a constitutional crisis. But what is certain is the various lawsuits being planned to challenge this takeover - including one on whether the three assemblymen from PR had already vacated their seats prior to becoming 'independents but friendly to BN' - is going to be long and drawn out.

Which investor is going to chance his money in such a messy state of affairs?

Mr Nizar had requested the Sultan to dissolve the state assembly and hold fresh polls after his three assemblymen became independents and effectively the 'kingmakers' since both BN and PR have 28 assemblymen each.

That Sultan Azlan decided the BN now held the majority with the support of the independents and chose not to dissolve the house was his prerogative.

Perakians, however, have overwhelmingly expressed their preference to see the matter resolved at the ballot box, rather than be presented with a fait accompli. Nonetheless, the opposition to the Sultan's decision was astounding.

The public protests during the swearing-in of Mr Zambry on Friday saw unprecedented - and unwarranted - scenes of groups venting their displeasure at the royal house by pelting vehicles with stones as they drove past.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and the man credited with the state takeover contends what is good for the goose is good for the gander, pointing out that BN was merely taking a leaf out of PR's book when it comes to encouraging defections. PR head Anwar Ibrahim had, after all, taunted BN all of last year that he would claim the federal government through mass defections.

Ironically, at the end of January, he had happily 'unveiled' the Bota state assemblyman as a BN defector to PR - only to see his prize leap back into the arms of BN some 10 days later, following which the three PR assemblymen declared they had become independents.

No side can hold the moral ground. Looking at the dubious quality of BN's latest catches - two of the independents are facing corruption charges - Mr Najib ought to have foreseen the victory would have been at best pyrrhic, as it is being described by many.

The resulting rancour has left Perak and the nation even more divided than ever.

If both political coalitions had been challenged to put aside their differences and to work together to overcome the global recession, the bad blood over the latest events is going to make it all but impossible. Support for Mr Najib had already been dismal, according to an independent poll conducted at the end of last year by Merdeka Centre, with only 41 per cent of respondents agreeing he would make a good prime minister.

When broken down by race, 57 per cent of Malays gave him the nod, while only 18 per cent or less than one in five Chinese and 28 per cent of Indians agreed.

Umno holds 27 seats in Perak and its Chinese partner, the Malaysian Chinese Association, one. It has no Indian representative in a state that is nearly half non-Malay. Set to become prime minister in March under a transition plan, the events of last week will make it tougher for Mr Najib to narrow the divide.

Judging by the tone of comments on the blogosphere as well as those in coffee shops and homes across the country, Mr Najib may have scored big with his party, but one suspects that it will be at some expense to Umno's main coalition partners, and greater political cost to his standing with the people.