Karpal Singh can take Sultan Azlan Shah to court for consenting to the change in the Perak state government, thanks to Dr Mahathir Mohamad's decisive action during his tenure as prime minister when he reduced the royalty's powers and ensured that they are not above the laws of the country.

The know-all ex-prime minister has confirmed as much in his recent remarks on Karpal's intentions. No one is above the law, unless, of course, one is the law. That is Umno, who are the law, and consequently, are above the law and above the sultans.

The question, therefore, is not whether Karpal can or cannot take the sultan to court. Why then is Umno so angry with Karpal and demanding that Karpal be stripped of his citizenship, etc.?

He has done nothing illegal in wanting to take the Sultan of Perak to court. I am sure that even the Sultan of Perak knows this fact, having been the Lord President once.

Umno's vitriolic reaction to Karpal's intention certainly cannot be because of Umno's unquestioning loyalty to the sultan - Umno didn't even squeak when Mahathir stripped the royalty of their immunity from the laws of the country and reduced their powers.

In fact, Umno, in cohorts with Mahathir, systematically weakened the power, influence and immunity of the royalty in the 1980s. Surely, that action was tantamount to rebellion against the royalty, a treacherous act which would have resulted in severe punishment if not for the power and strength of the prime minister then.

What they did was in effect treason, which is far worse than what Karpal is planning to do. Karpal would not even be breaking any law if he did go ahead and file the case against Sultan Azlan Shah. Why then is Umno reacting thus?

Politics, politics, politics...and the upcoming Umno elections. Every Umno leadership aspirant would be ‘foolish’ to waste this opportunity to ‘show’ that they are the true champions of Ketuanan Melayu.

What better way than to fully exploit the golden opportunity provided by a non-Malay opposition ppolitician who has dared to file a case against Sultan Azlan Shah, the defender of Islam and Malays in Perak?

Being a veteran politician, Karpal would have known that any action on his part against the sultan, even if legal, would meet the kind of reaction from Umno that we are witnessing. Why then did Karpal do this?

And why is he continuing to weaken Pakatan Rakyat by other acts detriment to the opposition? Even the naive know that once Anwar Ibrahim steps down as PR leader, that is the end of Pakatan Rakyat at this stage of its development.

PAS and DAP will go their own way, given their ideological differences and inherent party realities. Why then did Karpal make the ill-conceived call for Anwar to step down as opposition leader? And, why did Karpal do it now and openly, when Pakatan Rakyat is facing its biggest challenges?

Again, it is politics, politics, politics...and it looks like that Karpal, too, cannot escape the lure and grip of politics. Though not like the greedy and corrupt Umno and BN politicians, Karpal, too, is a human being and needs to be recognised.

The poor veteran MP who has spent decades in the opposition has yet to taste the fruits of success from the victorious March 8, 2008 elections for which he had laboured on for many decades. He is no longer the spokesman and leader of the opposition - Anwar has taken over that role.

He is not even the number one ‘opposition’ figure in Penang - Lim Guan Eng has assumed this role. And there are many new entrants and young politicians who are enjoying recognition and prestige as exco members of state governments, etc, while Karpal continues to merely serve as one of the opposition politicians in parliament.

Pakatan Rakyat should have recognised Karpal for his years in opposition politics and rewarded him with a prestigious position in Penang (speaker of state assembly?) or in other states controlled by them.

Karpal's recent actions, though detrimental to Pakatan Rakyat and favourable to Umno, have served to highlight that he is not fading away but is still a power to be reckoned with and who is still active in politics and needs to recognised and rewarded.

Pakatan Rakyat have failed to do their part and are partly to blame for Karpal's recent actions unfavourable to the party. Karpal Singh should be given his due reward.