Nizar finally surrenders Camry

IPOH, May 24 - After months of clinging on to the one symbol he had of his days as Perak mentri besar, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin finally surrendered the keys to the Toyota Camry 'AGS 10' here today.

The former chief executive, as a sign of respect for Friday's Court of Appeal decision, personally handed over the keys to a security guard at the State Secretariat at 8.10am this morning.

Unlike before when Nizar returned the keys to the official mentri besar's residence however, the surrendering of AGS 10 was done quietly and without media attention.

When contacted, Nizar's aide Amran Harun admitted that the vehicle had been surrendered and said the State Secretariat had requested for its return on Friday evening, just hours after the court delivered its decision.

The Court of Appeal had reversed the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision to declare Nizar as the rightful mentri besar and instead ruled that Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir's appointment as his successor had been legitimate.

"It is just a sign of respect, to show that we acknowledge the court's decision," said Amran.

He noted that this was not however a sign of concession for Nizar, who is still appealing the Court of Appeal's decision.

"Nizar is actually just fulfilling the promise he had made earlier.

"We feel that it is enough, there is no need to prolong the issue," added Amran.

Upon surrendering the keys to the mentri besar's residence in February, Nizar had told the media that AGS 10 would remain in his possession until the court decided that he was not the mentri besar.

Since then, he has been travelling across the state in the vehicle as a sign that he had not conceded to the Barisan Nasional government.