Perak Pakatan, we are proud of you!

By SK English News [Updated]

As the brickbats rained down hard on Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has tried to escape responsibility for what has transpired in Perak, there have also been kind words of encouragement for the 28 Pakatan leaders who braved Thursday’s sitting.

Even at the end, out of courtesy and respect for the office of the Regent of Perak, Pakatan Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin behaved like the gentleman that he is. He agreed not to walk out. And his team followed him and sat down.

How many men of this calibre and generosity of spirit are there? We are proud of you, Pakatan Perak.

Their behaviour certainly contrasted with Najib, who again has made himself scarce in the face of a difficult situation.

Suara Keadilan has appended below comments from various leaders and members of civil society.

Tunku Abdul Aziz, past founding president of Transparency International

The Perak fiasco is not about to run out of steam. We must accept that the situation will get worse before it gets better. I saw the images from the State Assembly “sitting” on national television at lunch time today, 7 May 2009, with a sense of unbounded revulsion. The scene of warring politicians shouting invective was not a joy to behold.

To use a medical analogy, the Perak affair will be a running sore. Only the Sultan of Perak can provide an effective cure. To ignore what is obviously an untenable constitutional position is an act of grave irresponsibility, and while the Prime Minister thinks it is a great idea for him to give the impression that he is above it all, I should like to remind him that he is not blameless, far from it.

It was his active act of muddying the Perak political waters that brought about this current crisis in the first place.

Gavin Khoo

It appears both the police and the state secretariat officers are colluding with the politicians to complete the power grab in the state. Again the people of Perak are the biggest losers. The political battle to control the state assembly is done without much consideration of the people’s interest.

The Perak democratic crisis has shown that it is a failed state. A caring and responsible coalition would have anticipated that a rule without the majority support of the people cannot be carried out smoothly.

It is a distaste to know that parties and stakeholders claiming the higher moral ground are oblivious to what has happened in the state and have ignored the repercussion, negative impact and psychological scarce faced by the people in Perak.

Whatever publicity or rebranding initiative done by the PM’s team of experts will not be able to erase this negative impact of the power grab.

Ragunath Kesavan, president Bar Council

The Malaysian Bar condemns the unwarranted police action in connection with the sitting of the Dewan Undangan Negeri Perak in Ipoh today.

It is obvious that the conflicts that are currently being played out arise from the lack of clarity and certainty about which political coalition commands the majority in the Dewan Undangan Negeri Perak.

Issues as to whether certain assemblymen should be permitted to attend the sitting, who the Speaker should be, the seating arrangements within the Dewan itself, all these and more are mere side-issues. Even when all is said and done, and the court decisions have been made, they may not reflect the will of the people.

As such, the only solution must be to go back to the people.

P Ramakrishnan, president of Aliran

Law and order has completely broken down in the Perak state assembly and in this state of lawlessness Umno has taken charge of the Perak. This is no honourable take over of the august body. It is a shameful way of acquiring power through brute force.

Najib must be held responsible for this pandemonium. He had created this situation in bringing about the change of government that has resulted in the bedlam that we had witnessed in the state assembly.

Hadi Awang, PAS president

PAS will not respect a government that does not show its respect to the law and the country’s constitution. This time, not only Pakatan Rakyat leaders and supporters were arrested but also several parliamentarians elected by Perak people too.

Lim Kit Siang, DAP adviser

It is unlikely that Najib will be able to live down the political baggage of having orchestrated the three-month constitutional and political crisis and stalemate.

For the sake of an unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab, Najib has brought important institutions of the country into greater disrepute, whether the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the judiciary and seriously impaired the vital doctrine of separation of powers.

Perakians, Malaysians and the world today witnessed another unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab - the office and powers of the speaker when the Perak state assembly has not officially met.

Wan Azizah, president PKR

It is very obvious now that the slogan is nothing more than a gimmick, and Najib treats the people with contempt.

What Zambry and Hee have done this morning is nothing less than an insidious conspiracy orchestrated by Najib to undermine democracy in Perak. The use of the courts and the police to meddle in the affairs of the legislature is a blatant breach of the doctrine of separation of powers recognised by every democratic government.

The people of Perak will, no doubt, hold Najib responsible for this dark episode in the history of the state.

Tan Yee Kew, Selangor PKR information chief

PKR Selangor strongly condemns the aggressive police action and unprofessional behaviour in carrying their duties at the Perak state assembly.

Police are not supposed to be have like hired gangsters of the Barisan Nasional. They are supposed to be non-partisan and not help the BN grab power.

Sumber : Suara Keadilan