Perak snap polls inevitable?

ARCHIVES 2009

By admin-s On Feb 19, 2009

By Deborah Loh in The Nut Graph

COULD fresh state elections in Perak, which Barisan Nasional (BN) worked so hard to avoid, happen after all?

In its haste to topple the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government, BN rushed to grab three independents, and the Menteri Besar and executive councillor positions. But it appears to have forgotten the powerful Speaker in the state legislative assembly.

BN's newly-installed Menteri Besar (MB) Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six executive councillors yesterday found themselves suspended from the assembly for 18 months and 12 months, respectively.

If the 59-seat house were to sit today, PR would have 27 assemblypersons on its side (the 28th being the Speaker) and BN only 21. The three independents are no longer members of the House, as far as PR is concerned.

This unprecedented move throws up questions about parliamentary democracies under a constitutional monarchy never before faced by Malaysia.

V Sivakumar

Can the Speaker, V Sivakumar from the DAP, run a House with an MB (Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin) who was sacked by the Sultan? Was the Speaker's move sub judice considering that a court case to declare the appointments of Zambry and his exco illegitimate is still pending?

Lawyers are at loggerheads over what has been done. But politically, it was a masterstroke by PR to drag the impasse in attempts to force a snap poll.

In limbo

The Perak state assembly must convene before May 13, six months from its last sitting on 13 Nov 2008.

With Zambry and his excos out of the House, it is possible that PR would call a special assembly to vote out the BN government earlier, in the middle of the Umno party elections which are from 24 to 28 March.