Deciphering Perak Sultan's Cryptic Message to Mohd Nizar

Mohd Nizar had an audience with His Highness the Sultan of Perak on 4th February to request consent to dissolve the state assembly.

Siasah Blog reported Nizar as saying after his meeting with the Sultan:

"Menurut Nizar, pertemuan itu berjalan dengan baik sekali dan beliau amat terharu dengan cara Sultan Perak mengendalikan hal ini.

Katanya,

"Saya amat terharu apabila di hujung pertemuan itu apabila Baginda
Sultan berkata kepada saya dengan membaca satu potong ayat Al Quran. Ayat itu yang bermaksud: "Sesungguhnya Allah bersama dengan orang-orang yang sabar."

That is, according to Nizar, at the end of the meeting, His Highness quoted a verse in the Quran that says, "Allah is with those who are patient".

The following day, after his meeting with Najib's delegation, His Highness met Nizar and told him to resign immediately; if not, the MB's post will be deemed vacant. Soon after he swore in the new MB.

Speculation is rife in the blogosphere, firstly, by what is meant or intended by His Highness when he implied that Nizar should be patient, secondly, the speed in which the Sultan took in removing Nizar as MB, and the swearing-in of the new MB from Barisan Nasional.

For many Malaysians who had the highest respect for the Perak monarch as a learned man with wide and long experience in law and as a modern ruler making frequent "pro-rakyat" public statements, the out-of-character action by the Sultan caught them totally by surprise.

For many, they find it hard to imagine the Perak Royal Palace/the Perak Sultan would:

1. endorse the dubious actions of the defectors (two of them being charged in court for bribery and one of them changing his mind twice in 10 days) to bring down a legitimate elected government
   
   
2. not realise that in reality, BN and PR each has equal number of representatives and the three defectors did not join BN but as Independents
   
   
3. not realise the due process of the law enshrined in the State Constitution that a vote of no confidence in the State Assembly is required before dismissing the MB, since there was a similar landmark case in Sabah
   
   
4. not realise as a former learned judge and Lord President of the Supreme Court that he "acts" on the advice of a sitting head of an elected government
   
   
5. not recognise the impact of the March 2008 on the whole nation and the shift in the mood of voters
   
   
6. not recognise that if he does not agree to dissolve the state assembly and return the mandate to his subjects, he will be acting contrary to what he and his son, the Raja Muda, had spoken out in public about the sanctity of the constitution, the democratic process and the rule of law.
   
   
7. not realise that a BN-goverment (27 UMNO and 1 MCA with three independents)which might be alright for states like Kelantan and Trengganu would be not well represented for a faily multi-racial state in contrast to the representation in the PR coalition in government.
   
   
8. not realise that a BN-government dependent on 3 independents to stay in power is very unstable
   
   
9. not aghast with the sickening money politics and party-hopping aimed at toppling a government whether it is by PR or BN
   
   
10. not realise the negative impact on the palace's esteem and integrity to act against the constitution and the wishes of his subjects.

The question is WHY did the Perak monarch decide what he did?

Could it be the Perak monarch:

• is telling Nizar relinquish the government voluntarily to the BN so that what he had in mind, whatever it is we will never know, can be put into motion for the overall and long term well-being of the state and his subjects, as wise monarchs always do.
  
  
• was angry that Nizar went against his wishes despite his cryptic advice, so much so he acted immediately to dismiss Nizar and appoint the MB from BN to show his utter displeasure for not understanding his advice.
  
  
• is not too pleased with a non-Perakian ( ie DPM Najib) for having the gall to confront the Palace on the issue and for a non-Perakian getting directly involved in the political affairs of his state and the fate of his subjects
  
  
• is acting out his original plan irrespective of Nizar's decision, to ensure that the BN gets the government it desperatly wants, and gets it quickly through defection, even though the monarch is unhappy about it so that UMNO/BN loses the moral high ground . UMNO/BN had condemned PR/Anwar Ibrahim since the March election for trying to topple the Federal govt through defection, yet it was UMNO/BN which approached PAS and PKR to defect en-bloc to retain power in Selangor and Perak.
  
  
• is opening the door for PR/Anwar Ibrahim to move forward openly to capture the Federal Government through defections since BN/UMNO had done so by capturing the Perak state government by the same means
  
  
• is willing to pay the price for the bigger good of the state and country by laying bare the deceit and hypocrisy of the UMNO-led government on the issue of money politics and defections.
  
  
• in the final analysis, is doing an unspoken favour for the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

There are the other rumours of deals done by DPM Najib with the Palace for Perak state's development by the Federal Government if a BN-government is in place, since Federal funding support had been hard to come by since March 2008 election.

Of course, the other rumour surfacing is about the improbable link of the Perak crisis to GAMUDA's future.

Sandiwara on a major scale?

- Malaysian Unplug