The historic “raintree Perak State Assembly” in Ipoh yesterday has captured the imagination of Malaysians longing for democracy and political change after the political tsunami in the 12th general election almost a year ago last March.

It has entered the folklore of the human struggle for democracy, freedom, justice and solidarity, not only in Perak and Malaysia, but of mankind itself.

This is why the “raintree Perak State Assembly” has had such en empowering, uplifting and even liberating effect on Malaysians, who have had enough of the sham and hypocrisy of Umno and Barisan Nasional leaders who had claimed that they had heard and understood, loud and clear, the message of the Malaysian electorate in the March 8, 2008 general election, that they would be leaders for all Malaysians and not just for any one race or group, even proclaiming the slogan of “Reform or Perish”!

It is a national tragedy that at a time when Malaysians should be united as one people, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation, to face the worst global economic crisis in 80 years, the country’s sixth Prime Minister who is to assume the mantle of national leadership is more pre-occupied with Machiavellian political chicanery as to orchestrate the illegal, unethical and unconstitutional power grab in Perak, immediately plunging the country into a new national crisis of confidence.

It is sad that Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah appears to be the lone voice in Umno and Barisan Nasional when he warned of the dire consequences of the Perak power grab setting off “a chain-reaction of illegality” –

“One lie leads to many lies. Each bad action leads to a cascade of follies. Particularly when the lie or violation concerns something very basic. ..

“With each violation the sense of decency and restraint and the habits that bind us to the Constitution are loosened. The confidence in the rule of law that makes civilized life possible is diminished.”

The fourth Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, plunged the country into a full-scale national crisis of confidence, attacking the doctrine of separation of powers among the executive, legislature and judiciary, in his sixth year as Prime Minister.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak has unleashed an even more relentless and wider attack of the doctrine of separation of powers two months before he became the sixth Prime Minister.

The “raintree Perak State Assembly” has transformed Najib’s illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak into his personal crisis of legitimacy as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia.