Suspension needed to put House in order, says Perak Speaker

Saturday February 21, 2009 | Staronline

IPOH: The decision to suspend Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and his six executive council members from assembly sittings was made to put the House in order.

State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar said he had “no choice” but to make the order as the seven were found to have clearly broken the rules of the state constitution.

He said Article 16(6) of the state constitution stated that the mentri besar of the day could seek an audience with the Sultan of Perak to dissolve the assembly if he ceased to command the confidence of the majority.

“The Clause clearly refers to the mentri besar at the time which was Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Ja­maluddin. No one else but the mentri besar has the right to seek an audience with the Sultan,” he said.

Sivakumar noted that under the state constitution there was no provision stating that any party suddenly claiming to have the majority could or must see the Sultan of Perak to ask to form the next government.

He said that as the head of the legislative assembly it fell upon him to resolve the constitutional crisis after receiving a complaint from Canning assemblyman Wong Kah Woh.

“After meeting the seven assemblymen, it was clear that they had committed wrong under the state constitution. Therefore, I had no other choice. I had to follow the rules,” he said.

Sivakumar stressed that it was never his intention to commit treason against Sultan Azlan Shah.

“I am also not questioning whe­ther the Sultan has the power to not dissolve the assembly,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Perak State Assembly Special Privileges Com­mittee, chaired by Sivakumar, suspended Dr Zambry for 18 months and his state executive council members for 12 months for showing contempt to the House.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abudllah Ahmad Badawi said on Thursday that what Sivakumar did was wrong. He regarded the act as not respecting, and rejecting, Sultan Azlan Shah’s decision to appoint Dr Zambry and the executive council members.

DAP chairman Karpal Singh said Sivakumar did not break the law with the suspension order.

Nizar described Abdullah’s directive to Dr Zambry to defy the ban as unlawful, saying that such a directive would encourage the people to go against the law.

Pakatan Rakyat has also urged Dr Zambry to dissolve the assembly to end the constitutional crisis.