Nizar to seek assembly’s dissolution tomorrow

Written by Chua Sue-Ann, Yong Min Wei & Surin Murugiah, The Edge

Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said today he will immediately seek the Perak palace's consent for the dissolution of the embattled Perak State Legislative Assembly to allow the people to elect the legitimate government.

"I'm immediately rushing to the palace to seek a dissolution. We (Pakatan Rakyat) are not clinging on to power," Nizar told reporters after the High Court's decision here today.

Nizar said he was confident that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) would be returned to power with a "landslide victory" based on the PR government's efforts during its 10 months in office.

Sultan Azlan Shah had denied Nizar's request for the assembly to be dissolved on Feb 4, ordering Nizar's resignation and installing Barisan Nasional's (BN) Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as menteri besar after the latter was deemed to command the majority confidence in BN's 28 other assemblymen and three BN-friendly independents.

Nizar reiterated that PR's Speaker V Sivakumar was the legitimate speaker of the assembly, describing BN's newly installed Speaker Datuk R Ganesan as "unlawful".

"There cannot be two chief ministers at any one time and likewise there cannot be two speakers at any one time," said Nizar.

In Ipoh, Zambry had started clearing the Menteri Besar's Office soon after the High Court ruled Nizar as the legitimate menteri besar and was believed to be making his way here.

An aide confirmed that they were in the process of clearing out, as the High Court had rejected Zambry's application for a stay pending appeal. "Datuk Seri Zambry is still looking into the next course of action and will seek legal advice, as the decision of the High Court is still fresh," he said.

However, the decision by the High Court does not mean the political impasse would end and it is anyone's guess as to whether the palace would dissolve the assembly as BN still commanded the majority in the House with the support of BN-friendly independents.

Political analysts believed that BN, through Ganesan, would try to convene an emergency sitting and move a motion of no confidence against Nizar. If a sitting is called, it would most certainly see a repeat of the pandemonium that took place last Thursday which resulted in the police being called into the House to maintain order.

Indeed, an online portal quoted Ganesan as saying that BN would obey the decision of the High Court but was also looking into tabling a motion of no confidence against Nizar since it had the majority.

Many believed the stalemate would only end if the palace consented to dissolving the assembly which could be as early as tomorrow.

Constitutional lawyer Chris Leong told The Edge Financial Daily that the High Court's decision to declare Nizar as the rightful menteri besar would put into question the legality of the May 7 state legislative assembly sitting which was called by Zambry.

"There is a need to call for reconvening of the sitting by the rightful menteri besar for motions to be tabled and passed.  And I think Nizar will not do it for the time being," he said, adding that the "under the tree" assembly, which among others adopted a motion to recommend to the Sultan to dissolve the assembly, had not been challenged.

Leong said Nizar would have the ability as provided by Article 16(6) of the Perak Constitution to meet the Ruler and request for the assembly to be dissolved and pave the way for fresh polls in Perak, adding that the power to dissolve was wholly in the hands of the palace.

He said the judgement by the High Court would also add weight to the decision by the Rights and Privileges Committee chaired by Speaker V Sivakumar to suspend Zambry and his six executive councillors from the assembly for contempt.