Forgetting About Sivakumar
Pakatan can table a no-confidence motion to topple Zambry's administration, or a confidence vote to reinstate Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.
By TAY TIAN YAN/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily
Perhaps, BN thought it already had the Perak state administration safely in its pocket.
But the state administration in the pocket is still a living thing that keeps bouncing about, and can bounce out of the pocket any moment.
The power seizure plan entails a number of hurdles, and BN thought it had crossed all of them.
However, the ruling coalition seems to have forgotten about one critical hurdle–the role of state assembly speaker and committee of special privileges.
While BN has formed the new state government, the original state assembly, speaker and committee are still valid. Under the protection of the laws, they are still very much in existence.
This, is Pakatan's biggest remaining stake.
And now, with state assembly speaker V. Sivakumar showing his hands, it is now time for Pakatan to launch a fightback.
When Sivakumar called newly installed menteri besar Zambry Abdul Kadir and executive councillors for a hearing, BN suddenly smelled something ominous impending.
If they refused to attend the hearing, they could be seen as in contempt of the speaker and the committee of special privileges. Actions could be taken against them as a consequence.
But if they attended, they would invariably be "penalised" for forming the new state government.
Therefore, to attend or not to attend, BN is going to be defeated this time.
Zambry et al attended the hearing, and were slapped with the expected punishment: being banned from the state assembly meetings.
The state assembly must convene at least once by May. With seven kept out of the assembly hall, and the three defecting assemblymen seen as having resigned and therefore unable to attend the meeting, BN's people will easily be outnumbered.
Pakatan can table a no-confidence motion to topple Zambry's administration, or a confidence vote to reinstate Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.
Zambry can sue the speaker, but the process is going to be very time-consuming.
He can call for a state assembly meeting, but will most likely face a no-confidence vote.
He can also seek to dissolve the state assembly, which is exactly what Pakatan has wanted.
Zambry now sinks into a deep mudpool, and will sink deeper and deeper as time passes.
Once again, the royalty's attitude becomes vital, otherwise BN can only hope that state assembly speaker Sivakumar and more Pakatan assemblymen would defect to its camp.
Of course, there is always the last card–declaring emergency.
