A battle royale UMNO can't possibly win

He actually has a good point but there's no way UMNO can win this one.

You can't have it both ways. You can't claim all along that any attempt at defying the royalty is "derhaka" and then deny that you are being "derhaka" when you, yourself, defy the royalty.

Back when it was still in power, UMNO's standard position about royal discretion was that the royalty can indeed decide who will become the MB of his state, and that the royalty does not necessarily have to accept the nominee put forth by the winning coalition.

Many legal experts say that is actually not the case. They say that in a constitutional monarchy, the royalty has to accept whoever the wining coalition nominates as its MB-designate (just like the king has to accept the nominee for PM put forth by the winning coalition).

So what happens when the royalty refuses to accept a nominee put forth by the winning coalition? Well, it sparks a constitutional crisis from which there can be two possible outcomes. The winning coalition could challenge this in court and try to force the royalty to accept its nominee or the winning coalition can lick its wounds and accept the person the royalty prefers.

This scenario actually happened in Selangor, in the previous election (GE13), when Pakatan put forth Wan Azizah as its MB-designate but the royalty preferred Azmin Ali. Pakatan could have stood its ground and challenge the constitutionality of that decision but it decided to accept the royalty's choice.

Pakatan basically did a cost-benefit analysis and concluded that there would be too much collateral damage from a court battle with the royalty. You've got to pick your battles and they decided this one was not worth fighting over. Azmin and Wan Azizah might be from different factions but they are, after all, from the same party. Azmin as MB was an option they could live with.

When Selangor looked to be heading towards a constitutional crisis, we didn't hear a single UMNO leader argue that there is no point in having a general election if the party that won is unable to propose its own MB. But that's exactly what Shahidan Kassim is now saying about the Perlis situation:

"There is no point in having a general election if the party that won is unable to propose its own Mentri Besar."

Isn't this "derhaka" by UMNO's own definition? I guess it's not when an UMNO leader is the one saying it. But this is a fight a severely weakened UMNO can't possibly win.

Already the Perlis royal family has responded with a police report saying Shahidan's comments must have offended the ruler. Meanwhile the Perlis state secretary has said that Azlan Man's (the ruler's choice) appointment as MB is valid.

Is UMNO going to stand its ground and refuse to accept the ruler's choice? Or will it capitulate? If it's any indication, you already have Hishammuddin saying that UMNO should respect the ruler's decision.

Ironically, Shahidan actually has a good point. Why bother with an election if the winning side can't choose its own leaders?

It's hard to argue with the logic of that point but because UMNO has for so long been supportive of the notion that the royalty actually has discretion when it comes to choosing the MB, it can't now turn around and endorse Shahidan's position on the matter.

So what will happen? Two likely outcomes:
i) UMNO accepts whomever the ruler chooses as MB
ii) UMNO refuses to accept this and fresh polls are called (resulting in UMNO probably losing the state because people are so fed-up with all the power play going on)

The second outcome is worse for UMNO than the first but either way, UMNO loses. Like Pakatan did in the Selangor crisis, UMNO would do well to choose its battles wisely. After getting such a drubbing in the general elections, now is not exactly the best time to pick a fight with the royalty. Hishammuddin himself has commented on this, saying:

"At a time when UMNO is still in the recovery process, the people are watching and assessing our every action."

Call it "karma". Call it "what goes around comes around". Call it "chickens coming home to roost". Call it what you will. But UMNO is finally getting a taste of its own medicine. And it's pretty bitter.