PUTRAJAYA, 11 Feb 2009: Veteran lawyer Karpal Singh said today that he will not represent Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin in filing a suit to declare Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir’s appointment as the new Perak menteri besar null and void.
He said he did not want to be in the team because his views and those of Mohammad Nizar’s team (Pakatan Rakyat team) were different.
Karpal Singh, who is the DAP chairperson said this when asked asked by reporters outside the Federal Court here whether or not he will represent Mohammad Nizar in the matter.
On 6 Feb, Mohammad Nizar was reported as saying that he would take legal action against Zambry, who was sworn in as Perak’s 11th menteri besar the same day, because there were now two menteris besar in the state and this had precipitated a constitutional crisis.
Mohammad Nizar, who is also the Perak deputy PAS commissioner, defended his position, saying that he was still the menteri besar and that Zambry’s appointment was against the federal and state constitutions. On his plan to take legal action against the Sultan of Perak for allowing the Barisan Nasional (BN) to replace the Pakatan Rakyat government in the state, Karpal again stressed he would proceed with the plan, despite Pakatan leaders saying they did not want to do so.
He said there was no doubt that Sultan Azlan Shah could be taken to court in his official capacity as, after 1993, the Federal Constitution was amended and a special court was established to deal with matters concerning the rulers.
“I’m sure that even he (Sultan Azlan Shah) knows that what I’m saying is correct. He is the former Lord President and has done a lot of cases. There is nothing unlawful or treacherous about it.
“They say I am disrespectful of the Sultan. I’m just saying what the law is. I stick by it. Take it or leave it. This is something so elementary that even a first-year law student knows that the Sultan can be taken to court. Why all this fuss?” he said.
Asked whether the police were investigating him over his move to take legal action against the Sultan, he said he was prepared to give statements to the police.
Karpal also referred to the demonstration by some 200 Umno Youth members outside his office in Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday, warning them to stop such illegal and unlawful demonstrations.
“Let me warn Umno Youth, do not push me too far. I will not bow to any intimidation. What I’m doing is within the confines of the law, the police should have protected me yesterday,” he said.
“The demonstration yesterday was illegal. Why are they not being charged in court for unlawful assembly, why the double standard when it comes to us,” he said.
On the Bukit Gantang parliamentary seat in Perak and the Bukit Selambau state seat in Kedah, he said Pakatan Rakyat would focus on winning the seats even though the coalition partners had differences of opinion.
He said whatever differences within the party would be sorted for the benefit of the Pakatan Rakyat.
“I and Lim Kit Siang (DAP advisor who was also present) have gone a long way for the last 40 years. It is better to resolve within the party. There is no problem with it, there is a bigger task ahead, there is nothing really to worry for the future of Pakatan Rakyat,” Karpal said.
The two seats fell vacant following the death of Bukit Gantang Member of Parliament Roslan Shaharom and the resignation of Bukit Selambau assemblyperson V Arumugam. — Bernama
