BN seize on defections to form new Perak Govt, PR hoping Sultan will consent to fresh polls
(NST) – Barisan Nasional Perak has secured the majority of state seats to form a new Perak Government after four PR assemblymen left their respective parties and pledges allegiance to the BN, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak declared moments ago. Two PKR and one DAP assemblymen left their respective parties and became independents "friendly" to the BN. A fourth assemblyman – Nasarudin Hashim of Bota who left Umno and joined PKR – has stated his intention to rejoin Umno.
Najib told a packed Press conference at his office in Putrajaya that he will seek an audience as soon as possible with the Sultan of Perak to formalise the new state government.
He said PKR's Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Changkat Jering assemblyman Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu, and DAP Jelapang assemblyman Hee Yit Foong, have submitted their resignation letters from their respective parties.
The four have also pledged to support whoever the BN nominates as the new Menteri Besar.
With the defections of Jamaludin, Osman and Hee, and the re-defection of Nasarudin, the BN now controlled 31 seats against PR's 28, which means the political pendulum has swung to BN's favour.
However, this clashed with Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin's intent to seek the dissolution of the Perak state assembly. Nizar has just completed his audience with the Sultan in Istana Kinta in Ipoh to plead the PR's case.
Nizar left Istana Kinta at about 5.30pm and spoke briefly to the horde of reporters waiting outside. "I have spoken to Sultan Azlan Shah and explained to him everything. It will be up to him to decide (on whether to dissolve the state assembly," he said.
It is now a question of who will prevail with the Sultan of Perak: the BN with the required number of seats to form a new state government or the Pakatan Rakyat, which has lost the numbers, but wants a snap state election.
Bota assemblyman Nasarudin, who defected from Umno to PKR last month, earlier made a surprising appearance at the office of Datuk Seri Najib Razak here in Putrajaya. Also making a surprise appearance was Hee, Jamaluddin and Osman Mohd.
The four stood besides Najib when he gave the Press conference to declare that the BN had formed a new state government in Perak.
Earlier, Nizar claimed to have an explanation for Nasarudin's appearance in Putrajaya: he claimed the Bota assemblyman was "taken" from his house in Ipoh by two BN assemblymen supposedly to meet Raja Muda Raja Dr Nazrin Shah in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
Nizar also claimed that Nasarudin, who defected to PKR last week, was "abducted" by these people to meet Najib. Nasarudin has denied Nizar's claims.
Nasarudin had announced his defection to the PKR on Jan 25 while Jamaludin and Osman claimed they have left PKR after being treated as outcasts. Prior to today's appearance in Putrajaya, the duo had deemed themselves as independent assemblymen.
Chronology of events today
10.45am: Members of the media rushed over to Jelapang assemblywoman Hee Yit Foong's house in Taman Ehsan after being tipped-off that she might give a Press conference. It turned out to be a false alarm but she was reported to have later confirmed her defection to the BN by joining the MCA.
12.30pm: Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin called for an emergency press conference at his office at 1pm but was postponed with no reasons given. However, word has it that he was to announce the dissolution of the Perak assembly.
1.40pm: The wire services issued a flash that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is calling for a Press conference at 4pm in his Putrajaya office, presumably to make an important announcement on the political status of the Perak Government.
2:10pm:> Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah arrived at Istana Kinta.
Exco members Tai Sing Ng and Mohd Zainuddin Mohd Yusof who arrived at the same time were barred from entering the palace.
3pm: Members of the media rushed to Istana Kinta after learning that Nizar Jamaluddin is seeking an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah.
3:50pm: Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin arrives at Istana Kinta
4:00pm: Nizar told the NST that he has won an audience with the Ruler 5pm. Nizar is believed to be seeking for the dissolution of the Perak State Assembly to clear the way for a snap state election.
4:00pm: Senior exco member Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham arrives at Istana Kinta but is barred barred from entering palace. He gives a P/C saying the only democratic way to resolve the political turmoil is by dissolving the state assembly and calling for snap elections.
4:10pm: Perak BN assemblymen are assembling at Najib's office.
4:10pm: Bota Assemblyman Nasarudin Hashim makes surprising appearance at Najib's office. Also making a surprise appearance is DAP Jelapang assemblyman Hee Yit Foong. Two so-called independent assemblymen who quit PKR, Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Changkat Jering assemblyman Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu, are also present.
5:15pm: Najib announces defections of four PR assemblymen into BN and declares that BN has the majority of state seats to form a new Perak Government.
In an immediate reaction, PR supremo Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was quoted by AFP as accusing the BN of trying to form the government in Perak "by hook or by crook."
"We are pushing for a dissolution of the state assembly and fresh elections in the state. We must go back to the people and get a fresh mandate," he told AFP.
DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang wrote in his blog that returning to the voters to seek a clear-cut mandate for the state government was the most honourable and democratic manner to end the political crisis.
