The Perak Pakatan Rakyat is obviously not going to call it a day yet. Nizar and his team are still fighting against the odds for the faintest miracles. Very tough, but not altogether impossible.The battleground is not in the streets, but the courtroom.
First, PR will file a lawsuit in the court to challenge a decision that has now become a reality.PR can provide the reasons to support its claim that the duty functions of Nizar and his state government should never be dismissed, and a new menteri besar should not be appointed. Dismissal and appointment should be at the discretion of the state assembly.
Second, PR wants the court to pass the verdict that the resignations of defecting state assemblymen are valid, thus paving the way for fresh by-elections.
Third, Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman are convicted in their corruption charges and are therefore stripped of their titles as state assemblymen. By-elections must be held for these two state seats.
All these three situations could possibly turn the table around. But chances are remotely slim.
Legal actions may not work to the favour of Pakatan Rakyat. Even if it does, the litigation process is going to be very time-consuming. The case could be deferred over and over again, while appeals could be made over and over again. Even if there is any positive outcome in the end, the PR administration will have been withering by then.
What PR can do now is to seriously look into the factors that have led to its downfall in Perak.
For one thing, there are a good deal of opportunists within PKR and DAP. They take politics as an opportunity game, and bet everything on it with the hope of bagging some benefits. Political party is but a platform, nothing to do at all with political philosophies.
Opportunity comes with status. Once elected as state assemblymen, they will now start evaluating decent price tags on themselves.
These two parties lack sound organisation and manpower, resulting in a flood of low-grade politicians. This is a fact, but it must never be made a pretext.
Although in the previous election PAS won the Kelantan state administration by just a single-seat majority, the administration managed to stay on until the expiry of its term.
That was not mere luck. Instead, the party boasted a team of consistent quality, vastly successful political education and powerful cohesiveness.
PKR and DAP have a multitude of supporters, but not a formidable cadre. This, is a question of political education and organisational capabilities.
These problems have been deliberated over and again, but no improvements have so far been made.
These two political parties boast sufficient resources today, and should therefore not engage themselves in short-term manoeuvres, existing merely because of the elections. They should have long-term plans to absorb aspring young people into their folds.
I want to reiterate that political parties do not exist merely because of elections. They have to get themselves ready to hold the reins of government.
Having a pool of talents is the prerequisite for a party's preparedness to take over the government.
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