After The Chaotic State Assembly Sitting, What Next In Perak?

IPOH, May 7 (Bernama) -- After today's incident, which stained the sanctity of the august Perak State Legislative Assembly as a result of the hype stirred by the opposition members, the people are asking, what's going to happen next?
To think that the political crisis in the state has ended with the removal of V. Sivakumar, from DAP, as State Assembly Speaker, and the appointment of Datuk R. Ganesan, from MIC, as the new Speaker, is a far cry.
Obviously, the opposition will not accept Ganesan's appointment nor other motions tabled and passed by the State Assembly today, which will leave the situation at status quo, unless one of the parties is willing to concede and give way.
The question is who or which side should be the one to give in - for sure, it is not the Barisan Nasional (BN), as the coalition has the majority vote in the assembly with 28 members and three "BN-friendly" independent representatives on its side.
Political observers will continue to question the validity of today's state assembly sitting, even if the court rules in favour of Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and declares him as the rightful Perak Menteri Besar on Monday.
What happened today is an embarrassing episode for Malaysia, known for its multi-racial society, rich culture and eastern values and a society that respects one another.
The gangster culture which the opposition members brought into the assembly today is saddening.
Slim assemblyman Datuk Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib, in his blog, said soon after the Regent of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah inspected the guard-of-honour and proceeded to the royal chambers, the opposition assemblymen hurriedly entered the assembly hall and changed their seating to the right side of the Speaker, which is allocatted for members of the government party.
He claimed the opposition members also tore the name tags of the BN assemblymen.
According to the assembly proceedings, Assembly secretary Abdullah Antong Sabri was supposed to start the meeting with reading of the "doa", but Sivakumar overuled it and refused to start proceedings for as long as Zambry, the BN assemblymen, as well as the Independent assemblymen, were in the House.
The actions of the opposition members in the assembly was a clear show of rudeness, especially when they very well knew that the Perak Regent was in the royal chambers waiting to declare open the assembly sitting.
Political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said what happened today should not have happened in the context of Malaysia's democracy.
He said that with the latest development, there was a need for Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak to intervene to find an end to the problem.
"Although the Sultan is above politics, in several situations, like what happened today, intervention by the Ruler is necessary," he added.
The deputy dean of social science studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia said what was facing the BN-led state government now was similar to the situation after the March 8 ge
"In principle, BN had the majority at that time, but the Sultan made a wise decision (by appointing a Menteri Besar from the opposition)," he added.
The question of dissolving the state assembly should not be raised by the opposition now because it could be deemed as contradicting the Sultan's decision.
He said the actions by the opposition of late were aimed at getting the people's support, portraying them (opposition) as the victim.
"If one episode after another happens, who is on the right side?. Are they going to continue to be at odds to an extent that the state's administration and the people are left to become victims of their political games," he added.

Lawyers Say Appointment, Four Motions Passed Valid

KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (Bernama) -- Despite the chaos that reigned at the six-hour Perak assembly sitting Thursday, a new Speaker was appointed and four motions were passed.
And the appointment as well as the motions passed were all valid, according to Umno Legal Advisor Datuk Hafarizam Harun and lawyer Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah who represents the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in court cases the ongoing Perak constitutional crisis.
The four motions were to remove V. Sivakumar as the Speaker; to appoint former Sungkai assemblyman Datuk R. Ganesan as the new Speaker; to appoint new state committee members and to declare the "under-the-tree" assembly illegal.
Hafarizam said the removal of former Speaker Sivakumar was valid as the motion was filed more than 14 days before the sitting and therefore it had to be deliberated and decided on in today's sitting.
"Under the Standing Orders, any motion brought more than 14 days must be tabled for the Dewan to be decided upon.
"Article 36A (1) (b) stipulates that in the absence of a Speaker, the Deputy Speaker shall preside until the appointment of a new Speaker, and Hee (Yit Foong) filled in so it was a proper appointment," he told Bernama when contacted after the sitting today.
On the Pakatan coalition's claims that the assembly was illegal, Hafarizam said there was royal consent for the sitting and the meeting had also been gazetted.
"Furthermore, BN has 31 votes and the simple majority rule dictates that the motions passed today are all valid as was the sitting," he said.
He said Article 72 of the Federal Constitution also gave immunity to the sitting and the motions passed under the Dewan today cannot be challenged in court.
Sivakumar had earlier argued that the suspension of Menteri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six BN executive councillors was made in his capacity as the chairperson of the privileges and the special rights committee and not as the Speaker.
As the Federal Court decision was based on his standing as a Speaker, the matter was inapplicable, he claimed.
Muhammad Shafee said Sivakumar's claim was invalid because the latter issued the show cause letter to suspend Zambry and the six BN councillors in his capacity as a Speaker.
"It was also because he was the Speaker that he was able to occupy the position of chairman (for the committee) so it is all tied up," he rebutted.
Muhammad Shafee said in any case, the Speaker cannot suspend any members of the Dewan for more than a day.
"He has to refer it to the assembly in order to get it properly done, he did not do that and the court had ruled the "sitting" under the tree as invalid," he said when contacted today.
Muhammad Shafee also brushed off Sivakumar's claim that the three "BN-friendly" independent representatives should not be attending the assembly as there was a legal suit by Sivakumar against them still pending in court.
"The Election Commission (had decided they still held their positions in the Dewan) and even the court had ruled that they never resigned, because it was a pre-signed (resignation) letter which was legally invalid," he said.
Meanwhile, constitutional law lecturer from the International Islamic University Assoc Prof Dr Sharahayu Abd Aziz said that in order for a new Speaker to be appointed, the motion to remove him must be heard and then deliberated upon.
However, she said, the motion was rejected by the Speaker and was therefore invalid.
"It shows us how much power is given to the Speaker, so much so that he can refuse to hear the motion.
"This is similar to the Dewan Rakyat when Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim puts forth numerous motions, but if the Speaker does not want to hear it.
"He (Anwar) has no choice but to sit down and keep quiet because the hearing of the motions have been rejected, so the final word is with the Speaker," she said.
On the immediate appointment of the new Speaker, Shamrahayu said there was no provisions in the Standing Order that detailed whether or not it was permissible.
She said normally, the appointment would take place after a deliberation by the Dewan and in another ceremony.
"In constitutional law, what is the normal practice should be followed, so I am inclined to say that this is a breach of convention," she said.

tunku : very sad to see this thing happening in our country.the pakatan should just let it go as the rule and order of the day is against them.they should not have acted like hooligans or gangster in the assembly.they are bringing such a bad culture to our polite society.i understand that some are saying that the assembly should be dissolved.under current economic situation it is not a good idea to do so.if the assembly is dissolved then next time the timing for election between the state and federal level could be different and again it is not convenience and wasting money.we have sarawak which does not have the same timing with the federal and it is waste of time and money as sarawak has an election every 2 to 3 years.one is the state election and one is for the country. for me BLAME ANWAR the moron for what is happening in perak. he started it all and now dap and pas facing it in perak. do not blame the bn as they only retaliate. they are not the one who started it.