What should be the next step?

Pakatan Rakyat's Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was declared the lawful Perak Menteri Besar by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in May last year and BN's Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir was ruled to be the rightful Perak Menteri Besar by the Federal Court a few days ago. The whole process was like riding a roller coaster which was full of surprises.

We must admit that law can hardly be understood by mortals like us. Perhaps, you felt "excited" or "painful" before but at this very moment, you have to gather yourself up and calm down to think about the future. According to the procedure, Nizar can still ask the Federal Court to review the decision but the continuation of a legal entanglement is not what Pakatan Rakyat hopes for after all, not to mention about the chances of succeed.

Both BN and Pakatan Rakyat must now seriously consider what would be their next steps.

If both of the parties are adhere to the Federal Court's decision, then they will have to return to their positions. BN must play a good role in stabilising the overall situation, developing the state and honouring commitments. Meanwhile, Pakatan Rakyat should play the opposition role to criticise, oversee and reflect public voices until the next general elections.

If both of the parties are willing to listen to the public opinion, the survey results published one year after the BN has regained the state power of Perak will be a good reference. The survey showed that more than three-quarters or 74% of Perak voters believed that a by-election would be the best way to resolve the political crisis in Perak.

However, the public opinion and the court decision are two different matters. Therefore, even though it is the people's will to have a by-election, it will still be the least likely outcome.

It depends on BN now but a by-election should be its last choice. Even though it seems to have retrieved Malay votes, the people's tendency is hardly predicted. It is better to observe and change only when it is necessary. In addition to remaining the status quo, they also introduce policies that benefit the people to win back confidence and reserve the overall situation.

Pakatan Rakyat is in a passive position and the worst is, it is faced with both internal and external problems. As the weak, voters may sympathise with it but how is it going to keep voters asking for a by-election? Pakatan Rakyat must do more practical work instead of blindly resorting to sorrow and depends on demonstrations, protests and criticisms.

The long term political confrontation has triggered a chaos. More and more people lament that moral standards is no longer applicable to Malaysian politicians as the people can no longer find the right and wrong. Instead, they have been entangled by hatred triggered by those with "bad intentions". It is not a normal party competition anymore but a malicious confrontation between two societies.

The intention of trouble makers is obvious enough. They want to exaggerate and enlarge the contradictions among different races through incitements, as only when the confrontation turns worse and the people are trapped in the fight and division, they can achieve their goal.

The political turmoil in Perak serves as a mirror that allows us to see clearly that politics will resort to every conceivable means. Although there are universal values and standards for democracy, it can still turn extremely ridiculous once a fight is started! i>(By LIM MUN FAH/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily)