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I made a half-day visit to Ipoh yesterday to spend time and exchange opinion with the local folks, and to lend moral support to the people-elected MB Mohd Nizar Jamaludin and his colleagues at the exco.

At the coffee shops shaking legs with the local people, they shared with me some political jokes of the day.

"Do you know why Najib had to come to the Istana twice on February 5 before the new MB was announced?" a guy asked me. I shook my head, listening on in anxiety.

"Najib came in at 9.50am, left at 10.35am, and came back again at 11.21am and left in a hush by 11.34am. Why? Forgot to bring the cheque booklah!"

The table of friends burst into laughter, knowing that it was just a black joke about the coup d'etat in Perak, albeit laced with very strong, arsenic hints of money changing hands.

But that's how bad Umno's image in Perak, and by extension the entire BN and perhaps even the palace, has worsened in a short one week.

The other thing I heard was about the crack lines among the fragmented Umno factions in Perak. Pangkor state assemblyman Zambry "Obama" Kadir was not the Top 1 choice by Najib. Depending which Umno factions you speak to, but Najib had apparently suggested other names, including Wan Mohd Khairil Anuar Wan Ahmad (Bukit Chandan), and Ramly Zahari (Manong).

At 5.53pm on February 5, the same day after Najib made two trips to the Istana, PM Abdullah came in to meet the Sultan and the Umno's choice of MB, valid or otherwise, was pronounced.

Watch this space for further developments on how Umno factions will fight it out as Abdullah and Najib both planted their own preferred candidates for the MB's post, and how the ronins -- headless samurais who have lost own turfs in Umno divisional elections and now possibly without a guardian master -- will jostle for the exco post at the expense of the non Umnoputras. There is currently one MCA state assemblyman in the BN line-up of state assemblymen.

Bit the bullet, fight another day

On the Pakatan Rakyat front, life is tough though not insurmountable.

Tomorrow, when possibly all PR YBs and their supporters will wear black for a day to mark the demise of democracy precipitated by a coup d'etat power grab, the two MBs, Nizar and the self-claimed Obama will turn up for office together.

The existence of two state government will create a legal standoff, and if unresolved through a fresh state-wide election, will trigger a constitutional crisis.

The strategy employed by PR is understandable. They are short of choice, and legal redress under current judiciary system is hard to be done, let alone to be seen to be done.

There are three legal redress PR will embark on: 1 ) Ask the Court to declare all three pre-signed resignation letters submitted to the Speaker of the Perak State Assembly as bana fide and valid; 2 ) Ask the Court to declare the three state seats formerly held by the three defectors -- Changkat Jering, Behrang and Jelapang -- as vacant and by-elections must be held; and 3 ) Move the Sultan, failing which the Court, to invoke the provisions of the state constitution to dissolve the state assembly, and to pave the way for state-wide election to determine decisive mandate.

These will protracted process and even if justice was ultimately proclaimed to all favour the PR, their usefulness will be invalidated by circumstances overtaken by events.

Meanwhile, people on the ground are preparing a groundswell to move the Sultan to dissolve the state assembly as they are now well-informed enough of their rights to determine the government they deserve.

Quid pro quo

One the other hand, February 10 will determine if at the Malaysian court of law, Umno will honour their quid pro quo to the PKR duo who was fixed for corrupt practices to have their case mentioned. (See Dr Mahathir's take on the duo vis-a-vis acceptance by Umno.)

I was told the magistrate who presides over the duo's criminal cases had been on medical leave since last week.

Already, Umno is sounding the all familiar derhaka and treason battle-cry to ward off any challenge to

Ironicallyly, it was the same Umno during the reign of Dr Mahathir that clipped the immunity of royal families and subject even the sultan to court, just like the common subjects, for certain wrong-doing that affect the society and nation.

Deja vu, again? Bite the bullet, fight another day. Business Times Singapore and Che Det say Najib's coup d'etat may well backfire.