PAS President Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang and spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat have reached a consensus to shut down the notion of a unity government with UMNO. PAS' reconciliation has brought a win-win situation to the country's two-line system. On the other hand, there was a chaos again for the recent Perak Assembly sitting. As a result, the sitting was abruptly ended. The people and the country are the losers here.

As expected, Nik Aziz's “showdown strategy” was successful, because Hadi Awang did not want to hurt both sides. As group interests were prioritised, those who supported the unity government notion have recognised the party's direction and ensured that they maintain the two-line system. If PAS cooperates with UMNO, UMNO would be able to gain Malay votes. It would be able to keep the federal regime even if without carrying any reform.

If UMNO does not reform, institutional shortcomings will become a scourge and conservative thoughts will take the dominant position. Therefore, PAS should be praised for abandoning its personal desires and prioritised the overall situation.

As for the political situation in Perak, it has been unstable since the physical conflict during the State Assembly sitting on 7 May. And the sitting on 28 Oct was held after the police has mounted barbed wires and five road blocks at main roads leading to the Perak Darul Ridzuan Building. The speaker's robe of former Speaker V. Sivakumar has been torn and he claimed that he was roughly strangled by the police. How could this happen?

BN state government passed the Budget without a debate and the sitting ended after about three hours. Who is going to oversee the state government's spending if there is no debate for the Budget?

How are the state assemblymen going to fulfil their responsibilities as elected representatives when there is always a chaos for the Perak assembly sitting and they are not able to sit down to discuss. Are they still able to reveal power abuse by local authorities during the sitting? How are they going to convey the people's voices? Senior officers and civil servants are free to spend extravagantly or do something wrong as they are not going to be questioned in the sitting.

Therefore, the people are the greatest loser in the political turmoil of Perak as the people's interests are not being defended.

The political arena has turned into a chaos after the 8 March general elections as politicians take regimes and power more important than national interests. Political parties and personal interests have gone beyond the interests of the country and society. Even government agencies and law enforcement bodies are involved, affecting the operation of the state and undermining the confidence of foreign investors. Politics can truly serve the people only if politicians are able to change their selfish attitude and restore the professional function of politics.

However, absolute power brings absolute corruption. Let's take MCA as an example, in order to maintain power, leaders have cast aside their personal reputation and honour. In order to fight for power, they have forgotten to serve the community. When historian and academician Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim suggested the government to unite the people with a single stream schooling system, MCA leaders were busy with their party crisis and they had no time to respond to it. They anxiously refuted only after the issue was speculated by Malay newspapers. In order to fight for power and positions, MCA leaders have forgotten their commitment of defending Chinese education to the death.

Under such a political chaos, I think “1Malaysia” should be changed to “1Country”. Are the personal and political parties' gain or loss still important when the country is trapped in a plight? (By LIM SUE GOAN/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily)