Battle of wills for Perak House
When the assembly does convene, Sivakumar would have to instruct the Sergeant-at-Arms, a policeman on duty at the House, to either stop or remove the three defectors and the seven exco from taking their seats in the assembly.
COMMENT BY BARADAN KUPPUSAMY, The Star
THE political crisis in Perak has worsened in dramatic fashion after State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar suspended Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zamry Abd Kadir and his six executive councillors on Wednesday.
The action by Sivakumar, the only Pakatan Rakyat leader still holding his post, has sparked a stand-off between the previous and current administration.
The allegations against Dr Zambry and his team were that they had tarnished the image of the House by taking office as Mentri Besar and councillors. It is a charge that stretches the imagination because they were all appointed by the Palace.
Nevertheless, the suspension has sparked another round of police reports against Pakatan and accusations that it is anti-Palace and showing great disrespect for the monarchy by arbitrarily suspending officials appointed by Sultan Azlan Shah.
The disrespect charge is personally led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at a press conference at his office in Putrajaya where he strongly discounted any possibility of Barisan seeking a dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly.
By suspending the seven Barisan excos, Pakatan hopes to force the issue and get what they want — a snap polls.
The sitting of the current House ends on May 14 and an assembly must be convened before that.
To do this, one needs the consent of the Palace. To convene the assembly is easy if the Speaker is on your side.
Pakatan had originally hoped to convene the assembly on April 13 but now the consensus among them is to bring it forward to March to coincide with the Umno elections, presumably to make matters worst for the Barisan.
The plan is for Sivakumar to disallow the three Pakatan defectors whose actions brought down the Pakatan government on Feb 5, to take their seats when the House convenes on the grounds that they had already resigned and that the Speaker had already declared their seats vacant.
(The Election Commission, however, has refused to hold by-elections because the three repudiated they had resigned saying they were coerced into signing undated resignation letters.)
Sivakumar will also bar Dr Zambry and his exco from entering the House on grounds that they had already been suspended for between 12 to 18 months.
The stage is set for a test-of-wills contest.
If Sivakumar succeeds when the assembly convenes, Pakatan leaders believe that with the three defectors and the seven excos “knocked out,” Pakatan will have a big majority in the state assembly to virtually do what they want.
If they dissolve and go for snap polls they still have to contend with the Palace which has the final say on whether to dissolve or not.
“We are hoping the Palace will agree, considering that Pakatan has a clear majority (minus the exco and defectors),” said a leading lawyer involved in Pakatan’s strategic planning.
But according to legal experts and Barisan strategists, it is all too easy to say but difficult to execute. Barisan has several options to overcome the stalemate.
Sources said besides going to court to get a declaration that the suspension of Dr Zambry and his exco was void, they can convene the House and use their 31-seat majority to outvote Pakatan.
They can table a motion to remove Sivakumar, elect a “friendly” Speaker in place and get on with the business of governing the state.
But they first have to get the suspension of the seven lifted and the consent of the Palace to convene the assembly and set the agenda for the meeting which would have to include the removal of Sivakumar.
The dicey thing is that Sivakumar is still the Speaker and would not allow himself to be removed without a fight.
When he was elected last year, clerk of the House Abdullah Aton presided over the assembly and election of the Speaker, and only after that Sivakumar assumed office.
The same procedure has to be followed to remove Sivakumar and elect a new Speaker.
But Sivakumar has already announced that he will not allow the three defectors and the seven exco members to take their seats when the assembly convenes.
By doing this, he hopes to scuttle any attempt to remove him and appoint a new Speaker and resolve the crisis except through a snap polls.
When the assembly does convene, Sivakumar would have to instruct the Sergeant-at-Arms, a policeman on duty at the House, to either stop or remove the three defectors and the seven exco from taking their seats in the assembly.
How the issue is resolved will consequently depend a lot on the Sergeant-at-Arms, a post created in the birthplace of democracy England in 1451, to enforce House rulings.
The irony is that Sivakumar may propose but it is the Sergeant-at-Arms who disposes.
