Pakatan may appeal court decision, says Nizar

(NST) IPOH: Kicked out of office a second time, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said the Court of Appeal's stay of execution yesterday amounted to a denial of the people's right to choose a government.

The Court of Appeal's order to hold off the High Court's decision declaring Nizar the lawful menteri besar left the "people in a state of limbo, uncertain of many things," he said.

"We in Pakatan Rakyat endeavour to respect the decision of the Court of Appeal. We vacated the state Secretariat building around 2.30pm," he told a press conference at the Perak DAP headquarters here yesterday afternoon.

"We in PR have repeatedly said that the courts are not the final arbiters in this," he said.

Nizar, however, had launched the suit to declare himself the menteri besar, on which he had declared victory with the High Court ruling on Monday.

"I want to stress that the best way to determine who should govern the state is to let the people, the Perakians, decide."

With Perak DAP chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham at his side, Nizar said the Court of Appeal's decision was meant to deny the people's right to choose the government of their liking.

Saying repeatedly that PR had no intention of clinging to power after the High Court decision on Monday, he said PR leaders had made up their minds to seek a dissolution of the assembly and force elections.

"This stalemate can only be resolved through dissolution," he said.

Nizar said PR could still look to the courts, including the possibility of appealing the stay of execution. Echoing Nizar, Ngeh said the courts were not the best avenue to solve the Perak crisis.

But he said PR had resorted to the courts because "there was no way out".

"As far as PR is concerned we view the right of the people to choose their government as supreme in a democratic system," he said.

Earlier, in Kuala Kangsar, Nizar sent a letter to Perak Regent Raja Dr Nazrin Shah seeking an audience to dissolve the state assembly.

"The letter was sent to Istana Kinta in Ipoh at 8am," he said after attending an investiture ceremony in conjunction with the Sultan of Perak's 81st birthday at Istana Iskandariah here.

This was Nizar's first official function after he was declared as the rightful menteri besar by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday. Nizar and his wife Datin Seri Fatimah Taat arrived at the palace in the menteri besar's official Toyota Camry bearing registration number AGS10 at 8.30am.

At the palace, he had a brief exchange with state Secretary Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Hashim and newly appointed Speaker Datuk R. Ganesan.

Speaking to reporters as he was leaving the palace, Nizar said: "I am seeking an appointment at which I will speak on the dissolution of the assembly to the Regent."

Asked whether he had discussed the subject with Raja Nazrin at the palace function yesterday, he said they only spoke on the investiture and family matters.

Meanwhile, copies of letters sent to Abdul Rahman and state legal adviser Datuk Ahmad Kamal Shahid on their suspension by Pakatan Rakyat on Monday night have been pinned up at all notice boards at the state secretariat building.

The letter dated on May 12 and signed by Nizar also stated that state financial officer Datuk Jamalludin Al Amini Ahmad would carry out the duties of state secretary.

Putrajaya said yesterday the state government did not have the power to suspend the two.