Let's get this straight: Malaysia did not become more democratic on March 8, 2008. The election was unfair, yet Pakatan Rakyat broke barriers. The fact that Pakatan is a larger opposition beyond our past imagination does not make us more democratic; how Pakatan operates and whether it can win federal power electorally and institute legislative changes that they've promised – ah, now we're talking democratisation.

So don't get too uproarious that the odious, despicable BN takeover of Perak has compromised our democracy. It has shown that BN wins in corrupt games, but our democracy has long, far too long, been compromised.

Likewise, Umno Youth and its roused rabble, stop pompously defending this disgraceful coup.

Banning crossovers sounds like a fine idea after the event, but, besides being a weightless theoretical point, is looking at the issue from the bias of political parties. This will hardly make us more
democratic.

It's the parties' responsibility to enforce party discipline; the electorate exert influence through contacting their representatives, speaking out in public media, and voting every election cycle. A crossover is a traitor to the party for sure, but whether a betrayer of the people – well, that's up to them. The day of reckoning with the rakyat will come.

Making our anti-corruption agencies truly independent and powerful will curb corrupt practices and provide a check against the most reprehensible forms of party-hopping or party-dropping. This will
really make Malaysia more democratic.

Again, such reform and progressive legislation will only happen with a change of federal government, so Pakatan, please get on with being a competent parliamentary opposition and effective administration of
four states.

Anwar's attempted power grab and Najib Razak's slithery swipe in Perak roughly cancel each other out, so Pakatan can still claim a slightly higher moral ground by staying above the fray and showing that it can represent all Malaysians.

Of course, it's hard to recompose and move on while the ground is still shaking. But our assessment of Sultan Azlan Shah's approval of the new Perak government, in recognition of our flawed democracy,
should give due consideration to procedure and principle.


It seems to me, and many Malaysians, that the most procedurally sound decision he could have made was to require that the assembly convene and take a vote of no-confidence. He must have given this some thought.

But for whatever reason – maybe he may have thought it would lead to the same outcome but also further fuel tensions – he took it upon himself to meet with all assembly persons of Umno, MCA and the new independents, and secure their pledge to work together. I suppose none would dare renege on one's word to the sultan.

All things considered, the decision to install Zambry as menteri besar is just one step short of what could have been a more complete process. One can quibble, but no side slam-dunks this debate.

What I find more troubling is that Sultan Azlan Shah effectively abandoned the principle of equitable representation as a vital element of majority rule. After March 8, when DAP pressed for the menteri besar’s post, he determined that the Perak government should be led not only by a Malay, but by one from the party with the smallest contingent.

Appointing PAS' Nizar as MB in hindsight appears to be a judicious ruling. His character and broad appeal, and the balance of power within Pakatan, have turned out quite well.

Now, Umno has dictatorial power within a slim majority gained through defection, with one MCA member and one Chinese independent and no Indian representative in tail. It pains me that Sultan Azlan Shah did not impose conditions for this takeover. On ethical grounds, he could have mandated that the defectors be barred from executive posts.

He could have rejected the whole thing on the grounds that the Indian community was not represented by a single elected person (unlike crony appointments that are in the works), or mandated that the menteri besar be rotated between Umno and MCA - putting their lone assemblyman in the exco grossly under-represents the Chinese community.

These are legitimate issues. Not addressing them amounts to a wasted opportunity for the sultan to reaffirm the principle that the ruling coalition, and major elected posts, should equitably represent the population. Lamentably, last year's fine precedent has been contradicted.

And now, with another by-election due in Perak, the messiness and ugliness of our democracy will rear its head again. God have mercy on us.

Let me repeat: if we truly want to make our democracy fundamentally, legislatively fairer, less farcical, and more mature, get on with governing and holding government accountable, and ousting BN from federal government in the next general election.