Pakatan Perak firm and planted

IPOH, March 8 - malaysianinsider

Before a crowd of hundreds, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Perak commemorated the rain tree that shaded their March 3 state assembly outside the state secretariat building this morning.

Assembling at 10am, Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, who was affirmed as menteri besar during the "tree assembly," led his executive council and several assemblymen along with DAP supremo and Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang in a dedication ceremony for the "Tree of Democracy".

He placed a plaque directly under it in remembrance of the March 3 assembly, which read "This monument is here to commemorate the assembly that was held under this tree on March 3, 2009.

It is a sign that Pakatan Rakyat has practiced democracy but it has been stolen by Umno and Barisan Nasional."

The ceremony also saw the planting of five saplings, to symbolise the five pillars of PR - justice, transparency, trustworthiness, welfare and integrity.

Yesterday, one of PR's exco members, Nga Kor Ming, had said that the commemoration was important as it was Perak's own "Magna Carta," in reference to the English legal charter which established constitutional law in most of the English-speaking world.

The ceremony also kickstarted PR's one-year anniversary celebrations, which continue later today when Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim addresses supporters in Shah Alam.

Nizar also added today, that the monument would also serve as a "new tourist attraction," seeing as how in the past five days, many locals and foreign visitors have stopped to pose for pictures under the tree.

Nizar also told reporters that he would send a letter to the palace on Tuesday to inform the Sultan of the three motions that were resolved in Tuesday's sitting - that he was affirmed as menteri besar, that the state assembly be dissolved and adopting the decision of the Privileges Committee to suspend Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Zambry Abd Kadir and his six exco members from the assembly.

The crowd that gathered there seemed in good spirits and appeared to be uplifted by PR's continued insistence that it is the legitimate government and cheered the PR leaders throughout the 45-minute ceremony.