• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • RSS
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
The Nut Graph

The Nut Graph

Making Sense of Politics & Pop Culture

  • Projects
    • MP Watch
    • Found in Conversation
  • Current Issues
    • 6 Words
    • Commentary
    • Features
    • Found in Quotation
    • News
  • Columns
  • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Found in Malaysia
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Pictures
    • Videos
  • Corrections
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Vault
    • Found in Translation

Perak crisis deepens (Updated 1pm)

March 3, 2009

IPOH, 3 March 2009: Despite being blocked from entering the state secretariat building by police this morning, the Perak state assembly was able to hold its sitting in a car park.

Bernama reports that state assembly Speaker V Sivakumar and 27 Pakatan Rakyat (PR) assemblypersons convened an “emergency sitting” under a tree, about 100m from the state assembly building today.

The sitting was held at 10.20am after the group was barred by police from entering the Perak Darul Ridzuan building, which houses the state assembly, apparently because it did not have the consent of the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah.

It was adjourned 25 minutes later after approving three motions.

The sitting was called last Friday by Sivakumar to debate, among others, two motions. One was to reaffirm support for embattled Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and the second was to seek dissolution of the state assembly and pave the way for fresh polls.


Police at the scene on the morning of 3 March 2009 (Pic courtesy of Merdeka Review)

Scuffle

Earlier, a scuffle occurred when the PR tried to enter the building grounds to attend the emergency sitting in the building.

Police only allowed Sivakumar into the building at about 9.45am and members of the public, including the media, were told to disperse.

Ipoh OCPD ACP Azisman Alias issued a warning he would arrest anyone, including elected representatives, who refused to disperse.

Police have since yesterday maintained tight security in the area, including closing several roads leading to the building.

Over 100 opposition supporters had gathered outside the building since early morning.

The main gate of the Perak Darul Ridzuan building in Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang has been closed since yesterday afternoon and only civil servants working there were allowed in today.

Police officers, including those from the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU), also guarded the back gate of the state assembly building.

The building houses the offices of the Perak menteri besar, state secretary and the state legislative assembly.

Newly appointed Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, from Umno, and state assembly secretary Abdullah Antong Sabri have claimed said Sivakumar’s action of calling for an emergency sitting was not valid because it did not have the consent of the Perak Sultan.

Sivakumar, however, has stated that his action was in accordance with the Perak state constitution.


State secretariat building on a more peaceful day

No locus standi

At the Ipoh High Court, the judge ruled that the lawyers representing Sivakumar have no locus standi to represent him in an application filed by Dr Zambry and the six executive councillors (exco) that were suspended by the Speaker.

Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim made the judgment in chambers.

Tommy Thomas, who is leading Sivakumar’s legal team, told reporters the ruling was made on the grounds that the Speaker was part of the state government.

As such, the judge ruled that only the state legal advisor could represent the Speaker in the court proceedings, Thomas said.

Dr Zambry and the six excos yesterday filed an application to court to declare their suspension for 18 and 12 months respectively by Sivakumar as null and void.

In the originating summons filed yesterday afternoon, they said Sivakumar’s actions violated the the Perak state constitution.

Zambry and the six excos also applied for a declaration that they had the right to attend and participate in all state assembly sittings and to discharge all their functions and responsibilities.

Sivakumar also suspended state assembly secretary Abdullah Antong with immediate effect yesterday for not being professional in conducting his duties.

Read live updates from The Edge

See also:
Tommy Thomas’ full statement

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related Stories

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Barisan Nasional, high court, ipoh, lawyers, locus standi, Menteri Besar, Nizar Jamaluddin, Pakatan Rakyat, Perak, sitting, Speaker, state assembly, state secretariat, V Sivakumar

Primary Sidebar

Search

Twitter

My Tweets

Recent Comments

  • Wave33 on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Adam on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Andre Lai on The Nut Graph stops publication

Recent News

  • The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Nasihat tentang sepupu yang mengganggu perasaan
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: The Sunni-Shia split and the answer to Muslim unity
  • Why Malaysia needs the national unity bills
  • Challenging government in the digital age: Lessons from Kidex
  • Najib’s failure
  • Babi, anjing, pondan: Jijik orang Islam Malaysia
  • Kidex and the law – What the government’s not telling you
  • Beyond Dyana Sofya
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Does Malaysia need hate speech laws?

Tags

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Anwar Ibrahim Barisan Nasional BN Bukit Selambau by-election dap Deborah Loh Ding Jo-Ann Election Commission elections Found in Malaysia Found in Quotation Gan Pei Ling government high court Hishammuddin Hussein ISA islam Jacqueline Ann Surin Khairy Jamaluddin KW Mak Lim Guan Eng Malaysia MCA Menteri Besar MP Watch Muhyiddin Yassin muslim Najib Razak Pakatan Rakyat Parliament Parti Keadilan Rakyat pas Penang Perak PKR police politics prime minister Selangor Shanon Shah Umno Wong Chin Huat Zedeck Siew

Footer

  • About The Nut Graph
  • Who Are We?
  • Our Contributors
  • Past Contributors
  • Guest Contributors
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments & Columns
  • Copyright Policy
  • Web Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
The Nut Graph

© 2023 The Nut Graph