Where is the sense of conscience and responsibility?

IPOH: Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said today he was not "the menteri besar of the court" who did not have the support of the Perak people as claimed by Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. [ 25/5/09, Bernama]

May 22 is the darkest day for democracy in Malaysia - albeit having many 'darkest days' of late following the coup d'etat in Perak. The Court of Appeal declares Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as the rightful Chief Minister of Perak despite the Federal High Court ruling in favour of Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin just 11 days earlier. The Barisan Nasional (BN) may have had the last laugh in this political scuffle but their despicable deeds will forever be etched in the minds and hearts of the Perak people who have been robbed of their state and democratic rights.

In the midst of the unrest, one can only ask: Where is the sense of conscience and responsibility?

Zambry has even the guts to say he is not the Chief Minister of the Courts [source]. His apparent ignorance of the truth is nauseating . If not of the courts then of who? The people?

The only way to prove how far his statement is true is to have a state-wide election again and let the people of Perak decide who they want to be their Chief Minister - Zambry or Nizar? Unless Zambry and his band of state representatives return the power to the people, he will always be a Chief Minister of the court - not of the people.

Thus, Zambry has no right (other than his right to freedom of speech) to claim he is NOT the Chief Minister of the courts. Has he forgotten that his status as Chief Minister was restored or rather, 'given' to him by the Court of Appeal and not through the votes of citizens?

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his much-marketed philosophy of 1Malaysia appear evermore hypocritical now when '1Perak' itself is unachievable. If the Barisan Nasional is truly about serving the people then Najib -as Perak UMNO Chief- should not have allowed the power-grabbing that had placed the state into political turmoil to take place.

Zambry states that the Barisan Nasional 'had tried its best to ensure stability and harmony in the state' during the crisis - which begs the question: Would Perak be tosed into such disarray if and only if Barisan Nasional had not attempted a power-grab?

It is easy to ask the Pakatan Rakyat to 'respect the rule of law' or to 'place the peace and stability above all else' but did it occur to Zambry and Najib that the Perak crisis is borne of Barisan Nasional's actions? The people of Perak are not to be taken for a ride!

In the UK, the recent parliamentary expenses scandal has left the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin no choice but to resign. The Speaker is to quit in June following his role in diminishing public confidence in the Parliament and accusations of bias in in the handling of the scandal. Would Malaysians see the same pattern in our own backyard, following the Perak crisis? Like many Malaysians, I long to see the restoration of God-given conscience and sense of responsibility among politicians and leaders.

So, this is my take on the Perak issue: Political appointments and the formation of state governments should never be placed in the hands of the Courts for it defeats the purpose of Malaysia being a democratic nation. Whether it is the Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional at the helm, the only way to settle a dispute such as this is through elections. I'd call for the return of democracy to the hands of the Perak people and let them decide which party would best represent them. Period.