Lessons To be Learned From Perak Crisis-Malaysiakini

Now that the full consequences of party-hopping and cross-overs have been reaped for every Malaysian to see, let us re-examine three simple lessons we can learn from this crisis:

1. If party hopping followed by snap elections is justified as an unjust means to a fair end, then there will be no end to party hopping, what more when vast amounts of money is offered under the table. (Anwar, pls take note, you are at an economic disadvantage in this respect).

2. Now that both BN (sin by commission) and Pakatan Rakyat (sin by temptation) have created this political mess, it is the honourable thing for both Anwar/PR leaders and Najib to outlaw party hopping. But first, to regain his credibility with the voters, Najib should call a snap election soon in Perak to make amends for the unfairness with which the Perak people are subjected to. That way, he will be doing what Anwar actually promised, cross over and give back the mandate to the electorate.

3. Politics is often dirty and devoid of ethics. Whoever has more influence on the rules of the game (the courts of law) has a stronger hand. But the spectators, i.e voters have an active role to play in giving the weaker opposition a stronger hand. They can either walk out in protest or continue watching the drama between the two foes. If the civil rights activists and bloggers had debated thoroughly the issue of cross-overs and not given blanket approval to Anwar's 916 tactics, they would have seen its dangers, both ethical and political.

Aside from Pakatan Rakyat's greatest political weapon of being anti-NEP and anti-corruption, what was sorely lacking was the lack of a shadow cabinet, concrete policies for the economy and a new set of values to unite a multi-ethnic people.

So the blame for the current Perak crisis should be shared with Malaysia's intellectuals, bloggers and silent citizens.

Read Karim Raslan's take: "Trouble in Perak."