Nizar, Sivakumar on hunger strike for fresh polls

By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider

Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir may have mentioned Mahatma Gandhi but it is Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin who will walk the talk.

In its latest bid to force state elections, Pakatan Rakyat will organise a three-day hunger strike starting on Tuesday that will be led by the ousted Nizar and dumped state speaker V. Sivakumar.

The hunger strike was planned before the Court of Appeal yesterday unanimously overturned the High Court decision that Nizar is the rightful Perak mentri besar.

But the new ruling, which was greeted with disgust from several PR supporters, will likely add numbers to the planned fast.

It will take place in front of the DAP headquarters here, which sits not 50 metres from the gates of the state secretariat, the seat of power that has swung between Nizar and Zambry.

Perak DAP secretary Nga Kor Ming also confirmed that PR would appeal to the Federal Court as the Court of Appeal decision had set a dangerous precedent.

"The ruling means that the Sultan can decide who is mentri besar and also that the Agong can decide who is prime minister. This devolves our system from a constitutional monarchy to an absolute monarchy," the former state executive councillor said.

Nga, who is the de facto No. 2 in Perak DAP, said that if the apex court, which has final say on matters, rules in favour of Nizar, it would "restore Perak's finest moment."

At the press conference, Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran also slammed the judiciary for being incapable of dealing with constitutional matters.

He suggested a constitutional court presided over by experts in this field to be set up.