Kemelut Politik Perak

Now and then, there comes a time when enough is enough, and now is that time. We urge the people of Perak to stand up for the state’s constitution and not let the Election Commission and the federal government bully the Perak people into submission …”

“The Election Commission has exceeded its jurisdiction and has no business to disregard the Perak constitution. It is not for the Election Commission to usurp the power of the courts …”
Adds latest on <>former Changkat Jering assemblyman considers himself Independent, but silent on whether he had formally quit his party<>former Behrang assemblyman says he has resigned but unsure if party has received his letter

By Wong Choon Mei

The Speaker of the Perak state assembly, V Sivakumar, is sticking to his decision that the letters of resignation from assemblymen Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Jailu are valid and were properly and duly accepted and effected.

As far as he is concerned, both the Behrang and Changkat Jering state seats are now vacant, regardless of today’s controversial decision by the Election Commission to refuse to fix by-election dates for the two constituencies.

It is within Sivakumar’s powers as Speaker of the Perak legislative assembly to bar both men from entering the House.

The state government has also given the Election Commission 48 hours to review its decision or face a barrage of action, including being taken to the courts.

“The EC is usurping the function of the Speaker and has misconstrued its role. It is there to conduct elections not to decide whether or not there should be an election,” said Perak senior executive councillor Ngeh Koo Ham.

Stand up for Perak

In the meantime, KeADILan information chief Tian Chua said it was business as usual in Perak despite the heated politicking.

“When you read about chaos and confusion in Perak, that is typical Barisan Nasional propaganda. Those of you who live here will know. Pakatan is in charge, life goes on as normal. We will also work out a task force to look after the two constituencies.”

Tian also urged the people of Perak to reject the blatant disrespect shown by the Election Commission for the state’s constitution.

“The people of Perak must know that their elected state government has rights. The Election Commission cannot simply ride roughshod over the state constitution, just because it wants to please the federal government or deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak.

“Now and then, there comes a time when enough is enough, and now is that time. We urge the people of Perak to stand up for the state’s constitution and not let the Election Commission and the federal government bully us into submission.”

A national disgrace

In a decision that shocked not just the north-western Perak state, but also the entire nation, the EC today refused to hold by-elections for the Behrang and Changkat Jering constituencies.

Worse still, it tried to overturn the decision of the state Speaker, declaring that the right to declare the seats vacant was vested with it, and not with the Perak legislative body.

“It is not the place of the Speaker to declare the seats vacant, but to keep the EC informed; it is the EC’s role to declare the vacancies,” said EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusuf.
“EC decided that it cannot establish that vacancies have occurred. Thus it will not be able to call by-elections. The two seats are still held by the two state representatives. We also will not call them in to explain the denial.”

His announcement sparked widespread condemnation.

Said Lim Kit Siang, MP for Ipoh Timur: “The EC has exceeded its jurisdiction and has no business to disregard the Perak constitution. It is not for the EC to usurp the power of the courts.”
“Any such legal challenge should come from Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman if they want to challenge the legality of their resignations from their respective state assembly seats.”

Siad Tian: “This is simply unprofessional. It is exactly what we feared and what we have been urging Malaysians to fight against.

“We reiterate, the decision does not come from the EC - its function is only to conduct and fix the date of election. Only the two state assemblymen can challenge the decision, and it must be through legal channels.”Jamaluddin, Osman ‘resign’, Pakatan still has majority
The two state seats fell into dispute after Najib, who is also incoming Umno president, tried to entice both men to cross over to his party.

The Pakatan Rakyat state government upped the ante by putting through pre-signed resignation letters of both assemblymen, who went ‘missing’ for days.

They later resurfaced and claimed that the letters were signed under duress.
Today, both men announced their intention to become Independents. Jamaluddin gave two conflicting stories to two different newspapers, saying he had sent his resignation letter to KeADILan to one, and that there was ‘no need’ for such a letter to the other.

“I sent the resignation letter to the Perak KeADILan office here through an aide today (Tuesday). I am not sure whether it has received the letter.” Jamaluddin was reported as saying by the Star.

“There is no need for it as I have been chased away by them. The state assembly speaker’s move to inform the EC of my seat’s vacancy itself shows that I am out of the party,” Jamaluddin was reported as saying in the NST.

Osman, who yesterday said he was still with KeADILan, did not mention if he had formally quit.
“For now, I consider myself an independent assemblyman. I have not decided whether to join any of the other political parties,” Mohd Osman was reported as saying in the NST.

The majority in the state assembly stood at 32 for Pakatan and 27 for Barisan before the resignations. After the resignations of the two assemblymen, the position would be 30 to 27, and this should be the conservative number to take, regardless of the EC’s decision.

Even if Najib succeeds in taking the two men over to Umno, the Pakatan would still control the state with a one-seat majority.

Brickbats pour in
Meanwhile, brickbats poured in for the 58-year old Abdul Aziz, who took over the chair of the Election Commission at the end of December.

Even Abdul Aziz’s predecessor, Rashid Rahman, who helmed the EC for eight years had said that the commission was duty-bound to call for by-elections.

“That is the requirement under the federal constitution. The Election Commission is in no position to question why,” the former EC chairman told the Malaysian Insider.

Another expert, Abdul Aziz Bari, said it was the Speaker of the House, whose word was final, and not the EC’s.

“As such, matters pertaining to suspension of a member and the like, the final say rests with the Speaker. He is the one who runs the House and his ruling is final,” said Abdul Aziz, professor of law at the International Islamic University.

“The EC has got to take the Speaker’s notification as a matter of the law. They have no choice. That is what the law is all about,” he added.