Thesun 2009-05-07 Page03 Zambry Okay To Have Opposition Speaker

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| THURSDAY MAY 7 2009

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Zambry: Okay to have opposition speaker [email protected]

IPOH: Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir says having a speaker from the Opposition is not a problem but he must be a “friendly one”. He told reporters on the eve of today’s state assembly sitting: “The change of the speaker is not important but what is important is to ensure that the government runs.” However, Zambry said, the motion for the change of the speaker was tabled according to the law, as early as two weeks ago, and “we will not do something unexpected as the speaker (V. Sivakumar) had also been informed about it”. “It is up to them to interpret and

to say this and that, I only hope that everything will run smoothly according to the order of the day. If the motion is rejected by the speaker, we will wait and see,” he said but refused to disclose the contingency plans. Zambry said the sitting would begin with the Ruler delivering his royal address and the speaker will continue what had been planned for the day. Asked where he would be seated in the chamber, he said: “It does not matter because I do not want to quarrel about the seat as my position as mentri besar is clear. “According to the convention, the majority or the government will dominate the right side of the chamber but this time around, if the

speaker wants to decide otherwise, it is no big deal.” On the possibility of the speaker adjourning the sitting indefinitely or adjourning sine die, Zambry said he only hoped the sitting would be conducted according to “the procedure as usual”. Asked for his opinion on former senior executive councillor Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham’s statement that Zambry and his six executive councillors should not attend the sitting since they were suspended by Sivakumar in February, he said he was not surprised with Ngeh’s statement. “We have heard about the Federal Court decision (to lift the suspension) and we will follow it,” he said. On former prime minister Tun Dr

Mahathir Mohamad’s statement yesterday that a Ruler cannot remove the mentri besar, Zambry said it was premature for him to comment on the statement as the case to decide who the legitimate mentri besar is – him or Pakatan Rakyat’s Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin – is pending in court. On the possible demonstration by opposition supporters, Zambry advised the people that peace must be maintained and that the people should respect the principle of democracy. “We (the ruling and opposition parties) are facing the same problem here but do not poison the minds of the people until they lose their sanity,” he said. “If we do the same to each other

by mobilising out supporters here, what will happen? “This is just a state assembly sitting, let the elected representatives attend the sitting.” Zambry also said the state government received 101 applications from the media to cover the sitting and none had been rejected. “Who is right and who is wrong is not important now as the BN government had never intended to prevent anyone from covering the sitting,” he said. “Do not blame the state secretary because he was not trying to stop anyone from covering the sitting but just trying to accommodate as many as possible because we used to have only about 30 reporters covering it (previously)”. SAIFUL HIZAM MANSOR/THESUN

by Giam Say Khoon

Nizar telling ‘fairy tale’, says lawyer KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin appears to be telling a “fairy tale” when he said he did not know what was happening around him, a lawyer for Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir submitted in the High Court yesterday. “Nizar is not an ordinary man, he was a mentri besar. He is completely ignorant of what was happening around him,” Cecil Abraham said. “He was kept in bliss of ignorance by the speaker, who kept all his information to himself,” said Abraham, who assumed that Nizar did not even read the newspapers or watch news on television. “With the greatest respect, it appears as if it is a fairy tale he is telling us. Even the children will not believe him. Either he has a selective memory or he is being economical with the truth,” he said. Nizar, 52, who was appointed the mentri besar on March 17, 2008, had filed an application on Feb 13 for judicial review in the High Court (Appellate and Special Power) to seek a declaration that he is and at all material times remains the mentri besar of Perak. He had told the court he only knew about the defection of three Pakatan Rakyat assemblyman after he came out of the palace, where he had gone for an audience with the Sultan to request the dissolution of the state assembly, when one of his officers informed him. In his submission yesterday, Abraham said the documentary evidence showed Nizar had lost the command of the majority in the state assembly. He also said the Sultan made an informed and considered decision in declining Nizar’s request for the dissolution of the assembly. “The Sultan took into account all the relevant factors and there is nothing unlawful or untoward about the Sultan’s decision to withhold the consent to a request for the dissolution of the assembly by Nizar,” Abraham said. Earlier, Sulaiman Abdullah, counsel for Nizar, told the court it was not the function of the Sultan, under Article 16(6) of the Constitution, to investigate whether the mentri besar had lost the confidence of the majority in the assembly. “His Royal Highness is bound by the advice of the mentri besar and the Sultan can say yes or no to the request for dissolution, but it is not his function to investigate and decide the mentri besar has lost the majority,” he said. Justice Datuk Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim fixed today to hear the closing address by Sulaiman.

Mahathir delivers his speech at the 9th Perdana Discourse Series at the Perdana Leadership Foundation yesterday.

Police spend RM39m in five by-elections PUTRAJAYA: A total of RM39 million has been spent by the police to maintain safety and public order in the five by-elections held after the 12th general election. For the Penanti by-election at the end of the month, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Abu Seman Yusop said yesterday, the police are expected to spend about RM5 million for deployment of personnel. “I’d like to appeal to those involved, especially the opposition parties, not to create unnecessary tension so that the police need not position too many security personnel there,” he said. “If the situation seems safe, we can dispatch fewer personnel. Like in Permatang Pauh, although there were many people, the situation was not as tense as in Kuala Terengganu. Less money was spent because the police did not need to set up a control centre, which is costly.” Abu Seman said RM15.3 million was spent in Kuala Terengganu, RM10.07 million in Bukit Gantang, RM2.82 million in Permatang Pauh, RM6.39 million in Bukit Selambau and RM4.6 million in Batang Ai.

IMF sees ‘long, severe recession’ for Asia pg 13

Perak takeover hasty, says Mahathir by Husna Yusop [email protected]

PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Barisan Nasional had acted hastily in taking over the Perak government and that Rulers cannot dismiss an elected head of government. However, he refused to say whether Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir’s appointment was legal or not because “the matter is best decided by the court”. “As far as I know, the Federal Constitution said it very clearly that the monarch cannot remove the prime minister. He can refuse to appoint a PM, but once (he is) appointed, he cannot remove (him) until a vote of no confidence is made,” Mahathir said after delivering his keynote address at the 9th Perdana Discourse Series at the Perdana Leadership Foundation yesterday. Asked whether the same applies in the case of state governments, he said: “I should think it applies to the states,

but if Perak is different, I stand to be corrected.” Earlier, in his address titled The Role of the Executive, Legislative, Judiciary and Constitutional Monarchy in the Governing of Malaysia, Mahathir said he was told Perak was a different case as it had its own enactment but he was not aware of what is stated in it. He also said people should learn something from the case in Perak. Asked to elaborate, he said: “People should not rush things. Things must be very properly considered before making a decision. Because, if we are so much in a hurry, we always make mistakes. In any situation, always give yourself time to think.” Asked whether he was saying that BN had acted hastily, he said: “It looks like that. It was a little bit hasty. Maybe they were doing the right thing, but still, it was hasty.” To another question, he said it was also not for him to decide whether there should be a fresh election in Perak. Asked whether he thinks it was a

case of the civil service over-stepping the boundaries in Perak when it made its own decision in the case of the state assembly, Mahathir said: “I don’t know whether the civil service made the decision or the legislative branch which makes the decision. Usually, as an executive branch, civil service (only) carries out orders, as far as I know. But whether this was the case in Perak, I don’t know.” Asked for his comment on BN being undecided on whether to contest in the Penanti by-election despite him saying it should, he said: “I have had my say and I do not want to say anymore.” On another issue, being a blogger himself, Mahathir advised all bloggers not to embarrass the royalty in their postings as the palace is an institution which must be respected. “We should not insult the Sultan. It is an institution that we should respect. And the Sultans also do not abuse their powers. So we should not put the Sultan in an embarrassing position,” he said.

Notice for another three motions received: Speaker IPOH: Perak state assembly speaker V. Sivakumar says notice has been given for another three motions to be tabled at the assembly sitting today. “I only knew about the additional motions to change the membership of the standing orders committee, public accounts committee and rights and privileges committee, respectively, today,” he told reporters in his office

yesterday. With the two motions tabled by Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir two weeks ago to remove the incumbent and elect a new speaker, a total of five motions are scheduled to be debated until Wednesday. On the motion to remove him as the speaker, Sivakumar said “it is the right of the speaker to accept or reject

any motion” and that he had made up his mind on what to do today. He, however, refused to say whether he would reject the motion or not. On his request to postpone the sitting, Sivakumar said he had yet to receive the consent of Sultan Azlan Shah to do so. “I am still hoping for a postponement,” he said.