BN not Pakatan which is fighting with Rulers - Malaysiakini

PETALING JAYA, Feb 14 — DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng tried today to shift the blame for any anti-monarchy sentiments over to Barisan Nasional instead as Pakatan Rakyat parties try to avoid a head-on clash with the Malay Rulers.

"In 1993 when the status of Rulers was brought down, which party initiated the constitutional amendments?

"After March 8, who demonstrated against the Raja of Perlis and the Sultan of Terengganu?" were his questions which he then answered himself. "Umno."

His remarks prior to a briefing for Selangor DAP representatives on the current political climate today came less than 24 hours after Selangor's Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah made a public statement backing Perak's Sultan Azlan Shah over the political crisis there.

The Perak Ruler had appointed Umno's Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir as menteri besar after BN's Feb 5 power grab. It is now a matter before the courts as to whether Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin of Pas has been legally dismissed or he is actually the legitimate MB.

Lim, the Penang chief minister, refused to tread into the minefield of questions over whether both Rulers had acted neutrally and would not acknowledge that the Selangor monarch's address was a call to respect and accept the decisions of the Malay Rulers.

"It is up to your interpretation. If I give you my interpretation, we will not have enough time as I have a meeting," he said.

He explained however that DAP's stand was based on the premise that the people should be the ones who decide who would becomes government.

"It is the people who elect the government and the Rulers give form to the decision of the people. The decision is embodied in the person of the Ruler under the constitution for it to take effect," he said.

Lim stressed that "the Ruler and the people are one," and that the mandate to govern should be given to whoever commands the majority support.

"Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin sued Zambry not the Sultan because it is Zambry who robbed the people of Perak," the Bagan MP said of Nizar's suit filed yesterday, adding that Zambry and BN had made a mockery of democracy by manipulating the process of democracy.

"When 54 per cent voted PR, how can BN, with only 46 per cent of votes, rule Perak? BN leaders should go back to school and learn how to count," he added.

By Shannon Teoh