Based on Perak crisis ruling, Khalid is no longer MB, says lawyer
(TMI) – The office of the Selangor menteri besar is now is deemed vacant after Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had refused to resign, despite losing the majority support of the state assembly, a constitutional lawyer said.
Constitutional lawyer Tommy Thomas said based on the principles established in the 2010 Federal Court ruling of the Nizar vs Zambry case, the Selangor sultan should appoint Kajang assemblywoman Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the new menteri besar.
This, he said, is because she enjoyed the confidence of 30 assemblypersons in the 56-member house.
“The legal position is clear. Regardless of whether Khalid resigns, the law deems that he has vacated the menteri besar’s post.
“Evidence of loss of confidence is also not limited to motions carried on the floor of the assembly. Instead, such evidence may be gathered from other extraneous sources,” he added, of the 2010 court ruling.
In that case, PR won 31 seats out of 59 seats in the Perak legislative assembly, with Barisan Nasional winning 28 seats after the 12th general election in 2008.
Although PAS had the lowest number of assemblymen, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) asked PAS to nominate Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as menteri besar, who the late Perak sultan, Sultan Azlan Shah, approved of.
In 2009, three PR members resigned from their parties and switched allegiance to Barisan. The sultan also refused Nizar’s request that the assembly be dissolved and fresh elections be held.
The sultan appointed Barisan’s nominee Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as the new menteri besar.
Thomas also cited critical passages from the judgments of the Court of Appeal and Federal Court in the Nizar case.
Raus Sharif, then court of appeal judge, said:
“The fact that a Menteri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly can be established by other means. It cannot be solely confined to the vote taken in the Legislative Assembly.
… Of course, actual voting in the Legislative Assembly is ideal but interpreting art XVI (6) to require the loss of confidence to be established only by voting in the Legislative Assembly would lead to absurdity as the Menteri Besar who may have lost support will not be too eager to summon it.”
