theSun | TUESDAY MARCH 24 2009 15

speak up!

Constitutional crisis
immortalised
IT WAS wrong of Pakatan
Rakyat state leaders, especially
those who were members of the
state executive council, to erect a
“Democracy Plaque” in a public
area on March 8 without permis-
sion from the Ipoh City Council.
As lawmakers, they should
adhere to the principle of rule of
law unless they see their actions
as “weapons of the weak”.
The plaque was erected under LocalCounsel
a raintree where the Pakatan
Rakyat state assemblymen held by Goh Ban Lee
an emergency sitting of the
state assembly on March 3 when they were
prevented from entering Bangunan Darul
Ridzuan. They have also dubbed the tree as
the “Democracy Tree”.
The Ipoh City Council was right to remove
the plaque on March 15. No one, especially
politicians, must be allowed to put up perma-
nent structures and messages in public areas
without permission. Still, it should be added
that many Ipoh ratepayers only wish that the
council is as efficient in cleaning drains or
removing illegally parked cars.
The constitutional crisis, or “a comedy
of errors” according to some, together with
the shenanigans of some politicians and
their supporters, have given the council an
opportunity to rise above party politics and
make the city be associated with the strug-
gles for democracy. When news broke that
three Pakatan Rakyat state assemblymen had
become independents, even Alfred Hitchcock
could not have hatched such exciting twists
and turns in the struggles to be the govern-
ment of Perak.
Malaysians have learnt a lot about democ-
racy and its fragility. More specifically, we
have learnt much about the role and power
of the sultan, mentri besar and speaker, not
to mention those of the state secretary, state
legal adviser, judges and the police in the
struggles to be the government of a state. No
civic lesson could be more spell-binding and
attract so much attention.
Cities all over the world are spending
hundreds of millions to grab attention. For
instance, Kuala Lumpur built the Petronas
Twin Towers. Dubai is building an even
taller building, besides the Palm Islands and
the Al Burj Hotel. Paris, already famous with
the Eiffel Tower and the Mona Lisa, is em-
barking on an attractive park to rival Central
Park in New York.
Ipoh did have its heydays. From the 1950s
until the 1970s, it was noted as the cleanest
town in the country. Furthermore, accord-
ing to the Royal Commission of
Inquiry to Investigate into the
Workings of Local Authorities in
West Malaysia under the chair-
manship of Senator Datuk Athi
Nahappan, “Ipoh Municipality
was singled out to us in different
parts of the country as an excel-
lent example of efficient admin-
istration.” The council was led
by the Seenivasagam brothers of
the Peoples’ Progressive Party.
The Pakatan Rakyat leaders
have promised to erect another
plaque. This is silly. It will be
vandalised, as it happened to the first one,
although the broken pieces were auctioned
off for RM42,000! More importantly, no lo-
cal council can allow the law to be broken
with impunity. Besides, if the Pakatan Rakyat
leaders flout the law, it will be difficult for
them to expect others to be good citizens
when they take over the state government
again.
The Ipoh City Council should erect a
plaque or plaques to record for posterity
the struggles for democracy in the city. The
purpose is to record the facts and leave the
observers to make up their minds on the
rights and wrongs.
The Pakatan Rakyat leaders should sup-
port the project since they were responsible
for making the raintree, which hitherto did
not attract a second glance, famous. If they
want to tell their side of the story, they should
write books or comments in newspapers and
blogs.
The Barisan Nasional state leaders should
also support the project. They were ap-
pointed according to the interpretation of the
law and were participants in the struggles for
democracy. Surely, they should be proud of
their roles and actions.
At present, Ipoh City Council might be
seen as too partisan to put up a balanced
commemorative structure. It should appoint
a committee of elders that both Barisan Na-
sional and Pakatan Rakyat are comfortable
with to oversee the project. The challenge is
whether the council leaders have the wisdom
to rise above party politics and seize the mo-
ment to make the city famous for democratic
ideals. What is termed as a constitutional cri-
sis today could be remembered as “Struggles
for Democracy”.
Dr Goh Ban Lee is a retired academic inter-
ested in urban governance, housing and urban
planning. Comments: letters@thesundaily.
com.

letter
letters@thesundaily.com

Conserve energy at all times

EARTH Hour, from 8.30pm to 9.30pm,
this Saturday is a great idea in that it
creates awareness on the need to con-
serve energy to save our earth.
Importantly, this awareness must
be sustained even after this precious
hour. An hour a year of commitment
to save energy is, to put it mildly,
insufficient.
The lower-income bracket of
businesses and domestic users, out of
necessity, use energy conservatively.
They have to watch their budgets
because they can’t afford to spend
lavishly.
The giant corporations and govern-
ment entities and the rich households
are the biggest culprits when it comes
to wastage simply because they can
afford it. How often have we seen de-
serted offices or staff-rooms or houses
of the rich with their air-conditioners,
lights and fans switched on.
These are the people, private sector
firms and public sector entities that
must embrace with full commitment
this endeavour to use energy con-
servatively and efficiently because, by
virtue of their size and economic and Global
financial capabilities, they will make stocks
the greatest impact on the success or rally
failure of this noble effort.
Let’s hope that this year’s Earth on US
Hour is the start of a committed ef- debt plan
fort by all Malaysians to save energy pg 17
and make our country a better and
less polluted place to live and work
in. And may this focus on making
Malaysia richer, more beautiful, and
more livable through a sustained ef-
fort of sustainable development help
us bury our differences and see that
we have a common goal and that is
to help Malaysia stand tall in the eyes
of the world.
Tam Yong Yuee
Muar