Sedutan berita dari The Malaysian Insider

New scenery, same fight

By Debra Chong

IPOH, Feb 22 – An open-backed five-ton lorry stood in the shade of the side porch of the official residence of the Perak Menteri Besar in Jalan Sultan Idris Shah.

It was a bright but cloudy morning, a good day for moving house. Several men – presumably the movers – had been going in and out of the double-storey brick house since 10am. It did not take them long to load up; there was not much to carry at any rate.

The men hardly broke a sweat in filling the lorry with the handful of black suitcases, red pails and laundry baskets, pale blue stacks of plastic chairs and brown packing boxes bearing the “thumbs up” logo for Ngan Yin brand groundnuts.

The biggest item spotted in the back of the lorry was an electronic organ.

For somebody who had been the menteri besar – and maintains he is still legitimately so – Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin does not appear to have much to call his own.

His few possessions did not even fill half the lorry. This even though he is a family man with nine children, seven of whom were being evicted together with him. The other two are studying abroad.

But a close aide to Nizar remarked that the official residence was sparsely furnished when his boss moved in after the 12th General Elections.

“My greatest memory is that for the first time, this place has been a place of unity for every Perakian, every race, every culture,” Nizar said, describing his most memorable moment in the official residence where he has held the fort after being denied entry into the state government office following the BN takeover.

He was referring to events in the the past three weeks where thousands of people poured into the house and compound to rally in support of him.

Four minutes to noon, Nizar stepped into the driver’s seat of his silver Kia Carnival with his wife and children and drove out through the main gate, as members of the Unit Amal, Pas’s voluntary security detail, in their maroon and black uniforms stood to attention along the tree-lined driveway.

Nizar unwound his window and offered a wave and a brilliant smile, before turning right towards the roundabout and heading to his new home.

He did not spare a look behind at the faded pink and white latticed block he had called home for the last 10 months. The men saluted.

For three weeks, the Unit Amal had stood by him, guarding his back round the clock as Perak underwent a constitutional crisis over who is its lawful chief executive.

Tomorrow, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, over 200 km to the south, is set to hear Nizar’s civil suit against Zambry, whom he claims usurped his seat.

For today, Nizar and his family will be settling into their new home, a modest two-storey stand-alone in a quiet residential neighbourhood a few kilometres down the road from the official residence.

Casuarina trees front the homey-looking building in pale pink, orange and white. Fruiting trees, with plastic bags protecting the young buds were seen at the back.

Nizar’s young children wasted no time taking advantage of the large, grassy compound to run about in play.

Ulasan al_insan:

Yang baik kita buat sebagai panduan dan yang buruk kita jadikan sempadan....ini yang ingin saya kongsikan kepada seluruh pembaca al_insan. Dato Seri selama 10 minggu menjadi MB hanya mengisi setegah daripada lori yang disewa...semoga Dato Seri mendapat rahmat ilahi dan berjaya fil dunia wal akhirat...bagi kita sebagai pelajar dan pemerhati, mari kita ambil ibrah dari setiap yang berlaku....Allah maha Kuasa dalam masa 10 bulan ALLAH boleh menukarkan seorang ketua kerajaan menjadi rakyat kembali.....Walau bagaimana sekalipun kita perlulah berfikiran waras dan sentiasa memperbaiki taqarrub kita dengan ALLAH.Moga ALLAH berikan taufiq dan hidayah kepada pihak yang ingin menegakkan HAK ILAHI..hanya kepada ALLAH aku serahkan segalanya....