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news without borders
IPOH: The Perak government
filed a suit in the High Court here
yesterday to declare the Behrang,
Changkat Jering and Jelapang state
seats vacant.
The suit was filed by Leong & Tan
Advocates and Solictiors in the Ipoh
High Court at 11.40am. Perak assem-
bly speaker V. Sivakumar and senior
state executive councillor Datuk
Nizar refuses to step down as MB
by Humayun Kabir
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
IPOH: The political turmoil in Perak
is far from over with Datuk Seri Mo-
hammad Nizar Jamaluddin refusing to
resign as mentri besar on the order of
Sultan Azlan Shah, saying the action
by Barisan Nasional to grab control of
the state is illegal.
BERNAMAPIX
He told a press conference yester-
day afternoon: “We are not rejecting
the decision of the Sultan but plead-
ing to the Tuanku for the dissolution
of the state assembly.”
Nizar had an audience with the
Sultan yesterday, and had submitted
a letter in which he presented two
arguments to justify his request for
a dissolution.
He said the 28 Pakatan Rakyat
members of the Perak assembly had
taken a decision to call for the dis-
solution of the assembly and to get a
new mandate from the rakyat.
The letter said both Pakatan
and BN have the same number of
assemblymen at 28, and that three
former Pakatan assemblymen were
Abdullah: PR should accept Perak Sultan’s decision
SLIM RIVER: Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Pakatan
Rakyat (PR) should accept the decision
of the Perak Sultan, Sultan Azlan Shah,
for Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Moham-
mad Nizar Jamaluddin and the state
executive councillors to resign from
their posts.
Abdullah believed the decision
was made in accordance with the
law. “I believe Sultan Azlan Shah had
thoroughly considered the issue and
the legal provisions before making the
decision.
“Just accept it. When PR won Perak
in the last general election, we (BN)
Suit filed to declare seats vacant
Ngeh Koo Ham were present.
The assemblymen for the three
seats – Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Be-
hrang), Kapt (B) Mohd Osman Mohd
Jailu (Changkat Jering), and Hee Yit
Foong (Jelapang) – had claimed that
their resignation letters, signed soon
no longer members of the assembly.
It added that the assembly speaker
had filed an application in the high
court for a declaration that the trio
were no longer assemblymen.
“How can the BN then claim to
have the majority to rule the state?”
Nizar said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi and Nizar at the
launch of a Sime Darby agricultural
project in Bagan Serai yesterday.
could accept it,” he said after visiting
Sime Darby’s groundwater project at
the Cluny-Bedford Estate in Batang
Padang, near here, yesterday.
Abdullah said: “We cannot go
against the law and the parties con-
cerned should not be politicking over
the matter.”
In KUALA LUMPUR, a constitu-
tional law expert said the Sultan of
Perak has the power to dismiss his
mentri besar even though the latter
refuses to tender his resignation after
being decreed to do so.
However, the power to do so is not
within the provision of the Perak Con-
after being elected in March, were
made under duress.
Sivakumar and Ngeh, in a joint
statement, reiterated that Sivakumar
had accepted the resignations of the
three assemblymen and the state
government had recognised that they
Nizar requested Sultan Azlan Shah
to await the outcome of the applica-
tion before deciding on the future of
the Pakatan government. However, he
said, the Sultan asked him to resign.
Nizar said he told the Ruler he
would not and would only do so
as per the state constitution which
stitution but from the Interpretation
Act which says the power to appoint
also includes the power to remove,
said Prof Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi.
“Article 16 Clause 7 of the Perak
Constitution says a member of the
executive council other than the MB
holds the office at the pleasure of the
Sultan. In other words, the MB cannot
be dismissed.
“But Article 16 Clause 6 says if he
loses the confidence (of the majority)
he must resign. So the gray area is
what happens if he doesn’t resign,”
he told Bernama.
He said the two separate provisions
were no longer elected representa-
tives of the said constituencies.
“This declaration is sought to
compel the Election Commission to
recognise that the said three seats
have fallen vacant and by-elections
must be called.” – Bernama
stated that a mentri besar could only
step down from his post if he will-
ingly resigned or did not get a vote of
confidence from the state assembly.
He told about 150 reporters and
photographers at his residence here
at about 4.30pm that he is still legally
the mentri besar of Perak and that
he will go to his office at the state
secretariat as usual today.
When told the police had sealed
off the secretariat, he said that will not
stop him from performing his duties.
Nizar said when he rang up the
state secretary to ask why his of-
fice had been locked up, the official
responded by saying: “I am in charge
of the building now and you are no
longer the mentri besar of Perak.”
With Nizar at the press confer-
ence were parliamentary opposition
leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and PAS
president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang.
Anwar said the wishes of the
Perak people to elect a state govern-
ment of their choice should be given
preference, and that fresh elections
should be called.
seemed to contradict, so one has to
look beyond the Perak constitution
and into the Interpretation Act, which
states the power to appoint includes
the power to remove.
“In a situation where the person
(MB) doesn’t want to step down de-
spite having lost (the support of the
majority), I think the Sultan will have
the power to remove.
“I’m sure he (the Sultan) doesn’t
relish (having to remove the MB) but
the whole world is watching. The
government is collapsing not due to
popular mandate but due to defec-
tions. “
theSun | FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6 2009
POLITICAL TURMOIL
IN PERAK
Yesterday
9.50am: Najib and Perak deputy Umno chief
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi arrive at the Istana
Kinta in Ipoh for an audience with Sultan
Azlan Shah, and left at 10.30am.
11am: Najib returns to Istana Kinta with the
four former Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen
– Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi, Mohd Osman
Mohd Jailu, Hee Yit Foong and Datuk Na-
saruddin Hashim to meet the Sultan. They
leave at 11.30am.
11.38am: Mohamad Nizar Jamaludin tells
reporters at a function in Bagan Serai he has
just been summoned to Istana Kinta.
11.50am: Najib tells a press conference at
the Perak Umno HQ the Sultan wants to meet
all BN assemblymen and three independents
before deciding whether to dissolve the state
assembly or call for Nizar’s resignation.
11.57am: Perak Speaker V. Sivakumar leaves
the High Court after applying to the court to
declare the resignation letters of the three
assemblymen as valid, and that their seats
are vacant.
12.30pm: IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan warns
of stern action against those who take part
in any illegal gatherings in the state.
12.50pm: Najib chairs an Umno meeting
where the choice of a new MB is dis-
cussed.
1.10pm: Nizar leaves the palace, waving
and smiling at reporters, after a 15-minute
meeting with the Sultan.
1.30pm: Najib ends his Perak Umno meeting
and left without meeting the press.
2pm: PKR de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim
arrives at the mentri besar’s house. Also
present were Penang Chief Minister Lim
Guan Eng and PKR vice-president Azmin Ali.
2.15pm: Sultan’s office issues statement,
saying Mohd Nizar had been told to resign
with the entire state executive council.
3.20pm: All top Pakatan leaders except
Kedah MB Azizan Razak and Kelantan MB
Niz Aziz Nik Mat converge at Nizar’s official
residence.
4.05pm: State Secretary Abdul Rahman
Hashim instructs Nizar and all exco members
to vacate their offices at the state secretariat
as soon as possible. They are also told to hand
in their official car keys and the keys to their
offices. All Pakatan officials in the complex
are told to pack up and leave by 5pm.
4.10pm: Roads leading to the state secre-
tariat are blocked by police to stop people
from gathering there. Police and FRU secure
the State Secretariat building.
4.40pm: Nizar tells a press conference that
he will not resign, and called on the people
to back his Pakatan government, saying the
BN’s majority may not be a valid one.
4.45pm: PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang
says Pakatan leadership fully backs Nizar’s
government which will not resign unless a
special state assembly session is called or
fresh elections are held. However, PM Datuk
Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi calls on Pakatan
Rakyat to accept Barisan’s rule in Perak.
4.50pm: Anwar says Pakatan Rakyat wants
to meet the Sultan to convince him to dis-
solve the assembly.
4.58pm: Najib and Perak BN representatives
arrive at Istana Kinta.
5.50pm: Abdullah arrives at Istana Kinta for
an audience with the Sultan Azlan Shah. He
left at 6.15pm.
8.30pm: Abdullah announces that Pangkor
assemblyman Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir
is the new MB for Perak.
Today
New government to be sworn in.