The claim by self-proclaimed Speaker of the Perak State Assembly, R Ganesan, that he had no choice but to summon the police into the House at the height of the ruckus during the May 7 sitting is dubious and deceiving (The Sunday Star, 17 May 2009). There is no merit in his claim.
There must have been a valid reason for stating that the law is an ass. Now we understand why it is so. The open-handed stay order granted by a single judge – Datuk Ramly Ali – of the Court of Appeal confirms why the law is an ass.
Aliran hails the judgment of the Kuala Lumpur High Court and salutes Justice Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim for his honesty and integrity in delivering a judgment that does justice to his profession.
Unlike the previous judgments on various issues pertaining to and contributing to the Perak political crisis, which were totally disappointing and appalling, this particular judgment has done credit to the judiciary.
Congratulations are due to the High Court and Chief Minister Nizar (and not to mention Speaker Sivakumar, whose coolness under pressure will earn him a cameo appearance in the nation’s history books for sure), but let us return to the original demand that was articulated three months ago: Let the People of Perak decide once and for all, decisively – for it is they and only they who can resolve this crisis with any popular legitimacy, says Farish Noor. Let the people of Perak decide, call for state elections now!
Chaos has descended upon Ipoh and the rule of law has been savaged by the brutish behaviour of Perak Umno State Assembly members. What we have witnessed today will condemn us for ever for reducing a much respected institution into the law of the jungle. Decorum was not observed and the rule of law was totally discarded.
Like all thinking Malaysians, Aliran is very upset that Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, the Umno Mentri Besar of Perak, is showing scant respect for tax-payers’ hard-earned money. If he was the peoples’ Menteri Besar, then perhaps he would have acted more prudently with the interest of the people at heart.
The request by the undemocratically ousted Perak menteri besar, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, for a nine-man Federal Court bench to hear his objection to Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir’s reliance on Article 63 of the Perak Constitution to determine who is the rightful menteri besar of the state is a fair one.
Chief Justice of Malaya Tan Sr Zaki Azmi must do the nation a favour by ordering the Federal Court to review its decision concerning the suspension of BN Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six executive councillors. This act of the CJ would be perceived by thinking Malaysians as doing national service. It is imperative that he heeds this earnest and urgent call and orders an immediate review.
There had been speculation that the new cabinet would be smaller than the previous one. Well, it’s smaller in the sense there are 28 ministers now compared to the previous 32. But it is bigger in another sense. There is an increase in the number of deputy ministers: there are now 40 compared to 38 in the previous administration.
The Barisan Nasional has suffered four deadly blows in a row. Umno has been soundly defeated on three occasions since 8 March 2008. The outcome of these by-elections has confirmed that there is no stopping the Pakatan no matter what crafty means the BN adopts or devices to reach out to the electorate.