Published February 23, 2009

MALAYSIA INSIGHT
Time to end the impasse in Perak

Barisan's 'backdoor takeover' of the state makes it underdog in April's by-elections

By PAULINE NG
KL CORRESPONDENT
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NEARLY a year after its last general election, Malaysia faces the prospect of two, or possibly three, by-elections. And in view of the current constitutional impasse in Perak, a statewide snap poll there cannot be ruled out.

The latest crisis occurred last week when Perak state assembly Speaker V Sivakumar suspended seven members of the two-week old Barisan Nasional administration, including the newly installed Chief Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir, for contempt of the House. Mr Zambry has been suspended for 18 months and his councillors for 12 months.

Mr Zambry's appointment as chief minister was no less controversial after Perak's monarch Sultan Azlan Shah decided that his Barisan coalition held the majority in the 59-member state legislature - despite both sides claiming 28 members each - because of the assurance of support from three new independents who had defected from the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

The state monarch declined the request of Pakatan Rakyat's Nizar Jamaluddin, the former chief minister, to dissolve the assembly in spite of his coalition's claims that the three had resigned prior to becoming independents. The validity of their resignations is now before the courts, as are a number of other cases relating to the swearing-in of the Barisan state government.

Mr Nizar has refused to step down as chief minister, and Mr Zambry has said the suspended members would not obey the Speaker's orders since it was unconstitutional.



Political analysts and legal experts think the ramifications of a hamstrung assembly include the possibility of the Supply Bill not being passed, which would cripple the state administration.

Cynics, however, say for all intents and purposes, the state is already severely disabled by 'the vicious cycle of political retaliations' which has served to victimise the people. With both sides demonstrating their preparedness to stretch the Constitution to the limits, fresh elections are ultimately the most pragmatic and speedy solution to the intractable battle of wills.

The Bar Council is among those advocating a resolution at the ballot box. 'While we wrestle with these constitutional and legal issues, there is reality on the ground that we must face,' its president Ambiga Sreenevasan said. 'The legal actions are not the first and are unlikely to be the last. This is not desirable and does not provide an effective and definitive solution. Going back to the people will.'

Barisan's wariness to go to the polls is understandable, given the public anger over its 'backdoor takeover' of Perak, which has also made Barisan the underdog in the coming by-elections in April. But as the party claims to have the majority support, it should back calls to let Perakians decide on the legitimacy of its mandate. Only by so doing can Perak move forward as it surely must if it is not to dig itself - and the country - into a deeper morass.

Public despair - coupled with a slumping economy which has now been relegated to the background - was deepened last week by the public shaming of a Selangor Pakatan state assemblywoman. Photographs of a partially clothed Elizabeth Wong, asleep in her bedroom, were circulated on the Internet. In spite of an avalanche of broad-based support for Ms Wong, the popular politician is all the more determined to quit her state exco position and seat following threats of even more lurid photographs or video recordings to come.

Whether it is the work of a spurned boyfriend who took the photographs and made videos, or the desperate politicking of rivals outside her party - or even within, rankled by her swift rise - the country's loss of a committed and able lawmaker is just the latest nadir in Malaysian politics.