If Prime Minister Najib Razak thinks the people of Perak have forgotten that they were robbed of their democratic rights and are no longer keen on fresh state-wide election, then he couldn’t be more wrong.
According to people in the state, resentment is growing by the day. So much so that even civil society leaders such as former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenavasan and the British High Commissioner Boyd McCleary have begun to openly urge the PM to reconsider the wishes of the Perak people.
“The feeling is still very deep, the resentment has gone underground because the PM has shown he has a revengeful streak from the way he has been ordering the arrests of candle light vigil protesters,” said Chang Lih Kang, PKR assemblyman for Teja.
“And this feeling is across the races. Most Perakians still want fresh election, whether they are pro Pakatan Rakyat or pro BN. What they want is a chance to show the government and the rest of the country what they think of what happened in their state.
“And this is exactly what they were denied and this is precisely what makes them angry inside. Imagine if it was you and someone else just won’t listen but keeps saying ‘Shut Up’, how would you feel?”
The only way forward
Najib had orchestrated a coup d’etat that toppled the multi-racial Pakatan Rakyat state administration in February, plunging the state into political and economic crisis.
Despite the storm of protest that followed, not just in Perak but across the nation, the PM has stubbornly refused to back down. Instead, he has opted to cling to power through all ways and means - mostly unfair and foul - by pressuring federal institutions such as the police and the courts to support his position.
This in turn has worsened the situation there, angering and demoralising Malaysians in the rest of the country.
Lih Kang’s concern is timely. Just the night before, both the distinguished Ambiga and McCleary uged Najib not to drag the Perak crisis any further.
“The answer is to go back to the people because the people will not be satisfied until they get their result and ultimately the power does belong to the people because once the people decides, everyone will accept it,” Ambiga was reported as saying by the Malaysian Insider.
“Do the right thing, just do the right thing and immediately people will say that they are quite reasonable but when you force these issues which people can read - we are not stupid, you cannot insult the intelligence of the people to understand what is really happening.”
Attending the same public lecture as Ambiga, the British High Commissioner said returning the mandate to the Perak people was not only the right thing to do, but it may be the only thing to do if the Umno-BN wanted to retain the federal government in the next general election.
Said McCleary: “It looks to me as though over there, we have ended up with a situation where the government seems to have opposed the will of the people and that is wrong.
“The way forward for this government is to go back to the polls because even if they lose that battle they can still win the war by demonstrating that is the right way to go.”
Said Ambiga:“You may lose a little bit this time but you would have gained a lot more.”
SK
24/06/09
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