Perak Battle Royale Over In 5 Minutes

By BOB TEOH (MySinchew)

The high octane Battle Royale in Perak was all over in five minutes as soon as the state assembly affirmed its confidence in Ir Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful mentri besar of the Silver State while disputed claimant to the post, Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, failed to get a court order in time to stop the emergency sitting from precisely moving that vote of confidence in Ipoh today (3 Mar).

Nizar’s next step is to seek an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah to inform him the motion to dissolve the assembly has been carried after affirming that Nizar has the support of the house as mentri besar.

The high drama was acted out according to script and in a comic twist of humour as it all happened under a tree with the Speaker V Sivakumar presiding dressed in his regal robe and songkok. Three independent assenmblymen were not allowed to sit in as they are deemed to have resigned and Zambry and six of his exco members could also not attend as they have been suspended by the speaker earlier. The leaves the house with 27 on Pakatan’s side (excluding Sivakumar who is the speaker) and 21 on Barisan’s in the 59-member assembly. That Pakatan would carry the day is never in doubt.

But is all this constitutional? The jury is still out as this is unprecedented just as meeting under a tree is equally unprecedented. The Barisan is fuming mad, of course, saying that the assembly cannot sit without the sultan’s consent and that the speaker had abused his powers by suspending Zambry and his six men for 18 months. But constitutional expert Tommy Thomas, who is advising Pakatan, says the speaker is “lawfully empowered to convene the Fourth Sitting of the First Session of the 12th Legislative Assembly of Perak on 3rd March 2009” without the sultan’s consent

This is because the last meeting of the Assembly in November 2008 was only prorogued or adourned sine die. This means that its sitting is only in recess and can still continue.

But sitting under a tree? That’s another legal poser for another day.

News of BN’ defeat is not only shocking but more so as that Pakatan had laid out its battle plans in well in advance. The question is why it took Zambry so long to take pre-emptive strikes?

Even as late as three days ago DAP assemblyman, Nga Kor Ming, a lawyer and (former) state exco member, told Sin Chew Daily he was adamant that they will go through with the sitting come what may.

Asked what if someone tries to stop the emergency state assembly, he said: “ After the incident in which Umno Youth members barged into the Parliament, in order to prevent someone from making trouble on that day, the Speaker has called the Perak Police Chief Datuk Zulkifli Abdullah on Friday (27 Feb), asking him to send police officers guard outside the state assembly hall on 3 March, in order to maintain order and to protect the speaker, as well as state assemblypersons. “

He even spelt out the agenda fixed for the assembly sitting. Zambry on the other hand made a lot of threats that Pakatan must face the consequences of trying to push through the sitting without seeking the sultan’s consent and well as contempt of court.

The last desperate move indeed came yesterday when an unsigned circular bearing the state emblem stated that the whole state secretariat building where the state assembly is also situated would be sealed off today. This led to the assembly sitting under the tree, which has by now become a state monument of dubious distinction.

How did BN lose power in five minutes?

Zambry filed an action just as the court was about to close yesterday and the application could only be heard at the earliest this morning at about the same time the disputed assembly was to convene.

(8:45am) Lawyers from both sides start arriving at Ipoh High Court in preparation for hearing of lawsuit filed by Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir against State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar.

(10:00am) Meanwhile, a stone’s throw away, Pakatan assemblymen and Nizar not allowed into the building, which had been sealed off but police allow Sivakumar to enter.

(10:15am) Dressed in the official attire of the Speaker complete with robe and songkok, he declares a vacant lot about 200m from the building as the venue for the emergency sitting under a tree.

(10:25am) Titi Serong rep Dr Khalil Idham moves that Nizar is the rightful mentri besar and affirms support for him. Teja rep Chang Lih Kang proposes a motion asking for the dissolution of the state assembly to call for a new election.

Both motions are agreed to by all Pakatan reps and carried.

(10:35am) Nizar proposes that the emergency sitting of the assembly be adjourned. Sivakumar adjourns.

(10:40am) Back at the High Court, Sivakumar’s lawyers withdraw from the case after Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim rules that private lawyers have no locus standi and cannot represent the Speaker as he must be represented by the state legal adviser because he is part of the state government.

Zambry was thus five minutes to late to get any order from the court and by that time the assembly has been adjourned with the motion carried.

11.20am: Forty minutes later a tirumphant Nizar told reporters he would seek an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah to ask for dissolution of Perak state assembly as soon as the documents from today’s emergency sitting under a tree in a vacant lot is completed.

Bernama reports that the Perak state assembly today approved three motions besides affirming the Speaker's decision to suspend Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six state executive councillors from the state assembly.

The motions are: to express support for Ir Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the Menteri Besar; to dissolve the state assembly to enable fresh elections to be held and for the Speaker to initiate contempt proceedings against the police, Home Syed Hamid Albar, Perak State Secretary Abdul Rahman Hashim and all the government servants who had blocked today's sitting of the state assembly.

The Barisan Nasional took eleven months to snatch the Perak government from the Pakatan Rakyat after its shocking and unprecedented loss of the Perak government following the 8 March 2008 general elections.

This time the Pakatan Rakyat came well prepared and in five minutes, they grabbed back power from their nemesis through a highly controversial constitutional move. Two conspicuous absentees from today’s battle are Anwar Ibrahim, the self-proclaaimed Prime Minister in the making, and Najib Razak, the PM in waiting. Both are seen as movers behind the Battle Royale in Perak. But how the war will end is now in the Sultan’s court. Will the palace grant an audience to Nizar?