Perak Constitutional Crisis

Perak Constituional Crisis

brews as furious citizens

condemn new state government

as unconstitutional and illegal.

Yesterday(February 6,2009),

Perak opened a new 

historic chapter of political

fury.

Riot police fired tear gas to 

disperse hundreds of angry

protestors as they marched to

Istana Iskandariah in Perak's

royal town, Kuala Kangsar

to block

the swearing in

of a new Perak

Mentri Besar( Chief Minister or

State Governor).

But their attempt 

proved futile.

At 4.02pm,

Datuk Dr.Zambry Abdul Kadir

(BN - Pangkor)

was sworn in 

as the 11th Mentri Besar

of Perak before

Perak Sultan Azlan Shah,

witnessed by Perak royalty

and National Front leaders

led by

Prime Minister-designate

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

All 28 People Alliance

state assemblymen led

by ousted Mentri Besar

Datuk Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin

boycotted the event.

Nizar,instead, reported

for work as usual

in his official car together

with his state executive council members.

But he had to

eat humble pie.

At the gate

he asked for permission

from the security guard

to allow him access

to his office.

At his office

he found all his 

personal belongings

gone.

He pulled out

an empty drawer

where he had kept

his things.

To add insult

to injury,

the State Secretary

Abdul Rahman Hashim

interrupted Nizar twice

as he tried to hold 

a press conference.

Nizar, his aides 

exco members and 

reporters were all

escorted out by police.

Perak State Assembly Speaker

V.Sivakumar also personally

delivered an official letter to 

the palace seeking the 

Perak sultan's consent

to convene an emergency sitting

of the Perak State Assembly.

He also took the precaution

to fax a copy of the letter at 1.30pm

yesterday to 

Istana Kinta,the Perak ruler's

official palace in Ipoh. 

 

Nizar,burning with fury,

vowed to fight it out

and sue the "illegal"

new Mentri Besar for

taking over the Perak

government without

proper due process.

He would not 

quit unless a clear

vote of no eonfidence

to remove him 

has been lawfully 

tabled and passed

at the Perak State Assembly.

His refusal to quit

and Datuk Dr.Zambry

swearing-in to take his post

means Perak is now 

deep in constitutional crisis

with two Mentris Besar(Chief Minsters

or State Governors)! 

Now how ~ Perak has

unprecedented two heads of government ~

one just sworn in and the other

ousted and crying foul.

This is because both National Front

And People Alliance command equal

numbers ~ 28 seats each in the hung

Perak State Assembly.

National Front claims it has the "majority"

of three disputed seats of three defectors

who have swung their allegiance from 

People Alliance to National Front

in a Perak political coup.

Sivakumar has already filed a legal

suit at the High Court

to declare the three state seats

vacant

and 

resignations of the defectors

valid.

The decision by Perak Sultan Azlan Shah

not to consent to advice of his Mentri Besar

Nizar to dissolve the hung Perak State Assembly

and call for fresh elections

is under hot dispute.

The validity of  the sultan's dismissal of Nizar

and his state exco members

is being questioned in law.

In a special press statement,

United Malays National Organization(UMNO)

elder statesman and Malaysia's Former

Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

stresses that Nizar is still the

Perak Mentri Besar!

Tengku Razaleigh says Nizar 

is not the Mentri Besar until

he resigns or is defeated

in a vote of no confidence

at a formal sitting of the 

Perak State Legislature.

"To formally test the mandate

of the current government,

the question must be put to 

the people through state elections,

or to the assemblymen through

a formal vote in the Dewan(Perak State Assembly),"

he points out.

"To remove and install 

governments in any other way

is to violate the Constitution,

erode the rule of law and 

run the risk of forming

an illegal government,"

he adds.

Tengku Razaleigh,Malaysia's

longest-serving

Member of Parliament,

advises that a legitimate government

draws its authority

from the consent of the people

and only from that consent.

"The people consent because

it is their government formed

according to their constitution.

whose leader is chosen through

free and fair election,"

he reasons.

So,in the public eye,

Nizar is still the Perak Mentri Besar.

His political mentors

at the People Alliance

leadership council has 

mobilized resources with

a team of top lawyers

to challenge the toppling

of the opposition-led

People Alliance Perak government

by "unconstitutional and illegal"

means.

People Alliance leaders 

-PKR leader former Prime Minister

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

PAS President 

Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang,

DAP Chairman Karpal Singh

and

DAPAdviser Lim Kit Siang ~

held emergency meetings

and decided to appeal

to the Perak sultan

to review his decision,

failing which legal suits

would be filed against

the sultan and National Front

for "power grab"

ultra vires

the Perak Constitution.

So Dummies,

who is right

who is wrong

in this new Perak

political power play?

Mark Twain would

have laughed aloud

over the political antics,

especially the height,

distance and speed

that Perak political

frogs

have achieved

in order to topple

Perak state government.

They set a historic record

in Perak for

political skulduggery.

Well, bear in mind

always this famous qoute

of Lord Acton (1834-1902):

"Power tends to corrupt

and absolute power corrupts

absolutely."

Malaysia's

prime minister-designate,

outgoing prime minister,

Perak sultan

and others have put up

a fantastic froggy fuzzy

political power drama.

They have put

their fingers and stirred

a right royal pudding.

To the winning side,

the pudding looks

delicious.

To the losing side,

it seems so

bitter.

But good or bad 
~ all things must end

well.

The sultan

has exercised 

his royal prerogative.

The people

need to exercise

their right to 

a government of their

choice.

Better Dummies

to use your understanding

to reason

and pick

real good state assemblymen

able to execute

the public trust

to speak out

and act responsibly

dutifully and faithfully

to safeguard

the public interest.

I would like

to kick the wrong

representatives

in the butt

and see how 

they jump as frogs

and fire them

with my vote.

What is the moral?

To rule right is hard,

to do wrong is easy.