The Commotion In Perak State Assembly
From the online discussions currently going on in full force, it appears that the Pakatan Rakyat state government's option to request the Sultan to dissolve the state assembly to pave way for re-elections has also been the option of most online forumers, who are apparently tilted towards the opposition alliance.
By CHONG LIP TECK/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily
During the general elections last March, Pakatan Rakyat took the state administration of Perak with a slim majority.
Over the past one year, the political stiuation in Perak has remained largely rocky, with rumours of party hopping springing up every now and then.
For example, former menteri besar Tajol Rosli had said BN would take over the state administration by 31 August last year. Nevertheless, like Pakatan's 16 September plan to unseat the BN federal government, the rumour finally died a premature death.
Having said that, following the hopping of UMNO's Bota state assemblyman Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim to PKR, the BN-PKR tug-of-war in Perak gets intensified. The normally quiet media during the CNY holidays has been a hive of activity these days, with rumours of party-hopping aggressively circulating around.
The heated media scene nevertheless reflects the shaky political situation in the state of Perak.
To many people, the best way to restore peace to the state would be to dissolve the state assembly and call for re-elections in a bid to seek voters' mandate. While Pakatan Rakyat believes it will secure a larger mandate this time round, BN is confident it will recapture the state from the hands of Pakatan Rakyat.
But more importantly, whoever wins the elections eventually, the voters' choice must be respected, or commotion will continue to rule.
It is difficult to estimate the results of the re-elections. It won't be a bad thing if either Pakatan or BN is returned with a significantly larger mandate to form a more stable state government. But if the outcome remains very close, democracy will be put to test.
The right of dissolving the state assembly lies with the Sultan and not the state government. Menteri besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin paid a visit to the Sultan first thing in the morning yesterday, but he fell short of making any announcement after leaving the palace. Similarly, the palace has also not issued any official statement on this matter.
Meanwhile, Perak state assembly speaker V. Sivakumar has officially informed the election commission requesting that by-elections be held for the two vacated state seats–Behrang and Changkat Jering.
Sivakumar announced on 1 February that the two state assemblymen Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu had tendered their resignations, and the move is seen by many as an apparent pre-emptive strike.
According to the law, once a state assemblyman has resigned, he will not be eligible to take part in the election within five years. If this is true, these two assemblymen will end up nowhere, and UMNO's plan to recapture the state will be nipped in the bud.
But things aren't always that perfect. The two state assemblymen earlier proclaimed "lost" have denied that they have resigned, claiming instead that they were forced to sign the undated resignation letters meant to prevent them from hopping to another party, after the general elections last March. They said they were prepared to challenge the legitimacy of the letters.
Under such circumstances, chances for these two seats to go into by-elections are extremely slim.
From a 1992 Supreme Court verdict, Kelantan state government's 1991 constitutional ammendment to prevent state assemblymen from party-hopping was ruled invalid, as it contradicted the federal constitution of freedom of affiliation.
Based on the same legal principles, such undated resignation letters have also violated the freedom of affiliation and are therefore unconstitutional.
Even as the Pakatan Rakyat state government is precarious, the opposition alliance is still slightly in the upper hands.
It has been reported that UMNO state leaders currently adopt a wait-and-see attitude, and has remained tight-lipped on rumours that Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman may resign and hop over to UMNO as they seek exemption from their corruption charges.
As for the possible by-elections and re-elections, BN has left it to the palace and EC to decide.
From the online discussions currently going on in full force, it appears that the Pakatan Rakyat state government's option to request the Sultan to dissolve the state assembly to pave way for re-elections has also been the option of most online forumers, who are apparently tilted towards the opposition alliance.
However, many people are of the opinion that by-elections or re-elections will not do anyone any good. Instead, they say anti-party hopping laws must be put in place to stop "political frogs" from hopping around.
