Sultan has asked Nizar to resign, BN set to form government ?

By Adib Zalkapli and Lee Wei Lian , The Malaysian Insider

 (UPDATED 3pm) Sultan Azlan Shah has refused to give his consent for the dissolution of the Perak state assembly, and has asked Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin to resign, national news agency Bernama is reporting.

And if Nizar refuses to resign, the post will be declared vacant.

This will pave the way for Barisan Nasional to form the next state government.

It is understood that a candidate for the MB's position has already been proposed to the Sultan, who has given his approval.

Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi is also expected to meet the Sultan at 6pm today to confirm the formation of a new state government.

So far Nizar has shown no sign of resigning as MB as his Pakatan Rakyat still continues to cling on to hopes of blocking BN from forming a state government.

He is expected to attend a joint press conference with Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at his official residence here.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been granted an audience with the Sultan at 6pm.

A mammoth gathering has been planned tonight, originally to be held at the MB's residence, but which has apparently been shifted to the Perak Stadium.

Earlier, the Sultan concluded a busy morning of talks with both Nizar and Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Razak in a bid to break the political impasse in the state.

He met Najib twice before summoning Nizar to his palace as well.

"Signs are good," Nizar told reporters as he left the palace.

But Najib was equally optimistic that the Sultan would rule in his favour and allow BN to form the state government.

In his second audience with the Sultan, Najib brought along the 28 BN state legislators and the three independents backing the coalition to see the Ruler to make his case for a new government.

"A second audience with the Sultan was arranged. It was attended by all 27 Barisan state assemblymen and Datuk Nasarudin Hashim, who has returned to BN, together with the three state representatives who left their parties and are now supporting Barisan.

"All of them pledged their support to Barisan, and the person to be appointed as the menteri besar later, before the Sultan," he told reporters before chairing the state Umno liaison committee meeting.

He said the final decision now rests with the Sultan.

Najib added that BN would respect and abide by the Ruler's decision, even if meant the dissolution of the state assembly to enable fresh state elections to be called.

Nizar's Pakatan Rakyat government has filed a suit to declare three state seats vacant after their representatives turned independent. The three — from Behrang, Changkat Jering and Jelapang — have thrown their support behind BN, which also accepted back the Bota assemblyman who had defected earlier.

Pakatan Rakyat hopes this move will force the Perak Sultan to accede to a request to dissolve the 59-seat assembly and pave the way for snap polls.

Earlier, Najib was granted an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah this morning a day after he declared BN has enough support to form the state government.

Najib was seen entering Istana Kinta here around 10am accompanied by Bagan Datok MP Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and other BN officials.

The cheerful-looking Najib and the state Umno deputy chief Zahid left the palace about 30 minutes later.

When met later Najib said that he had informed the Ruler that BN has the majority in the state assembly and intent to form the new state government.

He added that the Sultan had expressed his wish to meet all 31 BN supporters in the assembly before the decision on the new state government can be made.

"We will respect whatever decision made by the Sultan as it is his discretion," Najib told reporters at the state Umno building.

The deputy prime minister, who is also the Perak BN chairman, announced yesterday the coalition now enjoys the support of 28 of its assemblymen and three independents in the legislative assembly with 59 members.

The state BN's success in toppling the PR government would give legitimacy to Najib's leadership as he is slated to take over the premiership by the end of March, after suffering a blow with the defeat in the Kuala Terengganu by-election.