Awat La

Nizar In Zambry Out

This was published in Malaysian Insider yesterday;

For at least 19 hours, Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is the legitimate Mentri Besar of Perak.

High Court judge Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim today ruled that that the only way to force the MB to resign is through a vote of no-confidence in the state assembly.

He rejected a plea for a stay of execution from lawyers for Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir, the Barisan Nasional politician who was installed as the chief executive of the state by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah.

Zambry’s lawyers are expected to make a beeline for the Court of Appeal tomorrow morning to obtain a stay of execution of the High Court ruling – a ruling which has added another chapter to the story of the power grab which began with the defection of three Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers in February.

But till then, Nizar is the MB of Perak.

Tommy Thomas, an expert in constitutional law, told The Malaysian Insider: “Upon the pen being put down by the judge and by the fact there was no stay of execution, Nizar is the MB of Perak.’’


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This is today:

Nizar out as MB again!

Approximately 22 hours after the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that he was the rightful mentri besar of Perak, Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is now unable to act as mentri besar again after the Court of Appeal granted an unconditional stay of yesterday's High Court order.

Judge Datuk Ramly Haji Ali said that he was satisfied that there were special circumstances and granted the stay order to Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir at about 1.15 pm.

The effect of the stay order is that Nizar cannot act as mentri besar pending the appeal of yesterday's High Court decision by Zambry.

The date of appeal was not determined but Ramly said that he will set an early appeal date.

Datuk Cecil Abraham, the lead counsel for Zambry said that since Nizar, was seeking to use his position as mentri besar to seek a dissolution of the state assembly, it would render the actual appeal by Zambry unnecessary and thus a stay of yesterday's order was required.

Sulaiman Abdullah, the lead counsel for Nizar argued however, that the decision to dissolve the state assembly was the perrogative of the Sultan of Perak and that there was no guarantee that the Sultan would agree to a dissolution pending Zambry's appeal.

Nizar's lawyers are now exploring the possibility of setting aside the stay order but will seek instructions from their client first.

Mohd Hafarizam Harun who was holding a watching brief for Barisan Nasional told reporters that Nizar should now do what Zambry had done and respect the court's decision and vacate the office of mentri besar honorably.

Nizar dan Exco Pakatan meninggalkan Bangunan Pejabat SUK Perak setelah mehkamah memperkenankan permohonan Zambry untuk menangguhkan perintah Mahkamah Tinggi semalam. Permohonan Zambry diperkenankan untuk sepanjang tempoh rayuannya berhubung keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi semalam yang mengesahkan Nizar masih sah MB Perak.
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Kebiasannya Nizar dan Exco Pakatan akan berhimpun dan mengadakan sidang akhbar di Bangunan DAP negri Perak namun kali ini danya akan diadakan di Bangunan PAS Perak. Tindakan ini dilihat sebagai persediaan awal Nizar dan DAP untuk menafikan dakwaan bahawa Nizar hanyalah boneka DAP Perak sebagai MB.Dengan keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan membenarkan penagguhan perintah Mahkamah Tinggi semalam, Zambry masih kekal sebagai MB Perak sehingga Mahkamah Rayuan membuat keputusan mengenai rayuannya.

Manakala Nizar, belum boleh bertindak sebagai MB hingga Mahkamah Rayuan membuat keputusan rayuan Zambry. Nizar dan EXCOnya tidak boleh memasuki pejabat MB dan Exco di Bangunan SUK Perak.Keinginan Nizar untuk menghadap Tuanku Sultan Perak memohon pembubaran DUN juga tidak boleh dilakukan.

Aware that Barisan Nasional (BN) could win a no-confidence motion against reinstated mentri besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, Perak DAP chief Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham refuted such a possibility by saying that only the speaker, mentri besar or Sultan could initiate a sitting of the assembly. More...

He added that the May 7 assembly was invalid and as such, the speaker was still V. Sivakumar, who was removed by Barisan Nasional (BN) amid chaotic scenes on that day.
"BN cannot call a sitting," Sivakumar added, although he did not go so far as to say that BN could not table a no-confidence motion against Nizar as this could still happen if the Sultan wished to convene the assembly.
Ngeh, who is also senior state executive councillor, explained that since Zambry's actions as MB in the past three months were now considered invalid, his request for the May 7 assembly was null and void.
"The proclamation of the sitting must also be signed by the MB and Zambry was not the MB," he added.
Earlier, Ngeh had also told reporters that he expected the Court of Appeals to take several days to come to a decision and even then it could still be taken up to the Federal Court.
"Therefore, the court is not the best avenue to resolve this issue as it will only result in protracting the outcome. We still believe that the decision should go back to the people," he said.
When asked if PR might themselves go to the assembly with a confidence motion at this juncture, he replied: "Our emphasis is on the people's rights not our right to stay in power.
"None of us will stay a single day extra without the blessing of the majority of Perak. We prefer to be honourable members of the opposition than to cling on to power." from malaysian insider