IPOH, Jan 25: Leaders of Perak Pakatan Rakyat, who went through one of the most tumultuous periods in Malaysian political history, were cautiously optimistic when asked how they felt now that the Federal Court has said it would deliver final judgment on who their rightful Mentri Besar should be on February 9.
“We certainly hope that the judges will decide based on their conscience and the law as laid down in our federal and state constitutions. They must not allow themselves to be influenced by ‘other factors’,” Asmuni Awi, PAS deputy commissioner for Perak, told Harakahdaily. "We cannot allow ourselves to feel bitter or disillusioned because we have promised the people of Perak that come what may, we will fight to the very end to get back for them what was stolen by Umno-BN - which is their democratic right to elect the government of their choice," Chang Li Kang, PKR assemblyman for Teja, told Harakahdaily. Disgraceful power grab Indeed, given the Malaysian judiciary’s dismal track record of buckling to political pressure from the ruling elite, there are fears that the apex court will rule against PAS leader Nizar Jamaluddin and confirm Umno leader Zambry Kadir as the Perak Mentri Besar. The outcome of the case popularly known as MB vs MB has been eagerly awaited. Despite the urgency and the obvious public interests at stake, the Federal Court was unable to come to a swifter conclusion even though it heard the case on November 5. Nizar had led Pakatan state government in Perak until it was ousted by an unscrupulous coup d'etat engineered by Prime Minister Najib Razak in February 2009. The power grab was sharply condemned by prominent leaders and civil society groups both nationally and internationally, contributing in no small part to Malaysia's fall to 56th spot from 47th previously in the globally tracked Corruption Perception Index for 2009. Investor confidence was also dented by Najib's ruthless use of the courts to cling on and his refusal to call for fresh state elections despite the worsening constitutional crisis. Business leaders have privately expressed fears for the sanctity of their contracts not just in the state but also in the country following the rash of kamikaze court rulings aimed at keeping his Umno-BN coalition in power in Perak. "Whoever wins will have to go back to the people. The right to choose belongs to them, not the courts. It is also high time the whole mess is sorted out properly, above board for all to see," PAS Youth leader Abdullah Karim, a practising lawyer, told Harakahdaily. "Even legal practitioners from developed countries are monitoring the case as an example of how a constitutional crisis can be blown out of proportion because of political abuse. It is embarrassing and Malaysia has been disgraced too many times already." Return to Perakians their basic democratic right An engineer by training, Nizar had sued Zambry for illegally usurping his position the Najib-led coup d’etat. The High Court had on May 11 ruled in Nizar's favour, with Justice Abdul Aziz Rahim declaring him the rightful chief minister. In his grounds of judgment, Abdul Aziz said that as Nizar had not resigned, he could only be removed by a vote of no-confidence taken by the legislative assembly and not by the Sultan of Perak, who had dismissed him and appointed Zambry as the new MB. However, on May 22 and at lightning speed that raised eyebrows all round in the legal circles, a three-man Court of Appeal overturned the High Court ruling on the grounds that Nizar had ceased to command the majority of the legislative assembly. Nizar then appealed to the Federal Court, where a five-man bench heard the case although he had earlier appealed for the maximum 11-man bench because of the gravity of the suit - which will determine who is to govern Perak. According to Asmuni, regardless of the outcome on February 9, Perak Pakatan will continue to crank up its elections machinery. “No matter which way it goes, we have promised Perakians we will return the mandate to them. If Nizar wins, we will dissolve the state legislative assembly. If Zambry wins, we will continue to pressure Umno for dissolution. So we have to be prepared at all times. After all, for how long more can Umno can hide from elections,” said Asmuni, who is also polls director for Perak.
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