Was because PR ADUNs betrayed the people of Perak - Better focus on differences rather than 'distractions'

Well, the Federal Court has ruled that the UMNO-BN Menteri Besar is the MB of Perak. It was a unanimous decision apparently (5-0), but we have to wait for the written judgments to see whether all 5 agreed on all matters or not.

The fight for the Perak MBship was at all times, in my opinion, a question of proper procedure and timing. 

When the THREE(3) plus 1 Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblyperson left the Pakatan Rakyat, and withdrew their support from the PR-Menteri Besar - that was it. Nizar had already lost the confidence of the majority...and his options was to resign, or to get the Sultan to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly so that new elections be called. Sultan has the right to dissolve or not - and here, he chose not to dissolve it, hence Nizar had no choice but to resign.

But, before Nizar formally resigned, the Sultan proceeded in appointing UMNO-BN's Zambry as the new MB of Perak. Could the Sultan do that? Was the appointment of Zambry, before the resignation of Nizar, valid? - That should have been the questions that the court should have focussed on, and decided but somehow it all went somewhere else..

Nizar had no choice and had to resign - that is fact. 

Zambry would have become the Menteri Besar after that - that is another fact.

What was unfair was that the people of Perak were cheated - the people chose Pakatan Rakyat as their legitimate government, and now they have to endure again an UMNO-led BN government for a few months...years

Whose fault is it?

* Well, it is the fault of the ADUNs who potrayed themselves as belonging to one party, a factor the people took into account and voted them in, and thereafter jumping and throwing the support with the BN

* Well, it is the fault of the Pakatan Rakyat for choosing and allowing these persons to run under the PR ticket as ADUNs. [That is why background...and history is an important consideration. I believe most were ex-BN, hence with an history of 'jumping' - so it came as no surprise when they jumped back again.... but for DAP, it certainly was a big shock]

*  Well, it was also the fault of the UMNO-led BN who 'woo-ed', etc these persons...hence not respecting the democratic choice of the people...

PKR has just too many ex-BN types ....and they are being joined by more and more 'party hoppers' from the BN....Zaid Ibrahim, Chua Jui Meng,... and come next elections, what will be the price for jumping back to the UMNO-led BN, and I will not be surprised that it is some of these leaders of PKR that may be leading the group...

The people needs to know that the Pakatan Rakyat (and its chosen MPs and ADUNs) are not going to betray them. After all, it is a 'great risk' that many take in casting a vote for the Opposition ....and betrayal by the elected rep is something that may just push Malaysians back to the 'tidak apa' position and the keeping of the UMNO-led BN in power... so beware Pakatan Rakyat.

What the people need to know now is how will the government under the Pakatan Rakyat be different?...better?

Hence, focus on the legal battles of Perak, Anwar's 2nd Sodomy Trial, failures of UMNO-led BN's past and present failures is just not enough - how will you be different?

Local Council Elections - that the PR promised before 2008 GE - and then there is still no Local Council Elections at all - no legal battles, nothing... [Only Perak under Nizar allowed its people to elect their own Kampung Heads (and 1 Kampung Baru head) - why was this also not done in the other Pakatan Rakyat ruled States....

Allah issue - guess what, there are State Enactments also in the Pakatan Rakyat states that say that Allah (and some other words) cannot be used by persons other than Muslims. Yes, it clearly goes against the position of the Pakatan Rakyat - so, why are they not amending these 'bad laws' which only needs a simple majority to amend. A weakness in Pakatan Rakyat. A fear...A worry - but this certainly is not a characteristic we want to see in the future people who seek to govern Malaysia...and most of its States, do we?

The Federal Court, the highest court in the country, has delivered a unanimous decision in declaring that Zambry Abd Kadir of BN is the rightful Perak menteri besar.

In doing so about 11am, it also dimissed the application by Pakatan Rakyat's Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin.

In immediate comments at a press conference, Nizar said he has not decided whether or not to file a review.

"We will scrutinise the written judgment and then decide," he said, calling for calm among supporters.

"This is the saddest day (for) Malaysia as this shows the judiciary is not indepedent. Our target now is to win back Perak."
 

Perak BN senior exco Hamidah Osman said: "I am grateful for the decision and hope everyone will accept it. This is a victory for the people of Perak."
However, DAP leader Lim Kit Siang disagreed, saying the "5-0 decision is a shameful moment for the judiciary".

On his Twitter page, he described this as a "black day for justice".

PKR Gopeng MP Dr Lee Boon Chye said: "Although we lost 1Perak, we might win 1Malaysia in the next general election."
 

Perak DAP head and Sitiawan assemblyperson Ngeh Koo Ham said the current Perak government is not the people's government as 54 percent of the voters had chosen Pakatan in the 2008 general election.

Outside the court, the Pakatan Rakyat crowd shouted "Bubar DUN", "Zambry penakut", "tipu" and "rasuah" when they heard the news.

BN supporters, however, celebrated as their leaders came out of court.

The decision
President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, led a five-member bench in delivering the verdict.

The others were Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Arifin Zakaria and Justices Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Abdull Hamid Embong of the Federal Court.

Justice Arifin who read the judgment ruled that it is not necessary for a vote of confidence to be done in the state assembly, and that the sultan can sack the MB. Zambry therefore commands support in the House with 31 seats. 

The attorney-general's chambers was represented by the head of prosecution division Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah and Kamaluddin Md Said, the head of the Trial and Appeals division.

Nizar's lawyers were Philip Koh, Chan Kok Keong, Leong, Edmund Bon, Miohd Hanipa Maidin, Ranjit Singh, and Razlan Hadri Zulkifli.

Zambry's lawyers are Cecil Abraham and Sunil Abraham. Zambry himself was not present in court for the decision.

Mohd Hafarizam Harun and M Reza Hassan held a watching brief for Umno. 

Previous judicial decisions

BN was seen to have usurped power in Perak when three Pakatan Rakyat assemblypersons switched sides to become BN-friendly Independents in February last year, leading to Pakatan seeking legal recourse.

On May 11, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim had ruled that Nizar is the rightful menteri besar.

"He is, and was, at all material times the chief minister of Perak," Abdul Aziz told the court.

However, the appellate court's three-member bench unanimously overturned the decision in favour of Zambry, saying that the High Court judge had failed to properly and adequately appreciate the entire evidence before him.

"We hold the view that the granting or the withholding of the request for the dissolution of the state legislative assembly is royal prerogative,” ruled Justice Md Raus Sharif.

The Federal Court had, on Nov 5 last year, heard Nizar's appeal and submission for more then six hours

The court had earlier dismissed Nizar's application for a full bench of 11 judges or an enlarged panel. - Malaysiakini, 9/2/2010, Perak MB - it's Zambry!