Published May 8, 2009

Perak state in constitutional limbo

Regent had to wait six hours to declare open the proceedings amid unruly scenes in the House

By S JAYASANKARAN
IN KUALA LUMPUR

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THE Perak state assembly was adjourned indefinitely after a shambolic start with the Regent having to wait six hours to declare open the proceedings amid unruly scenes in the House: near-scuffles among lawmakers, shouting, and the unceremonious ejection of speaker V Sivakumar from the chamber by plainclothes policemen.

Chaotic: More people are concluding that Perak is ungovernable and the situation can only be resolved through fresh polls

Ipoh, the state capital, was locked down by the police who cordoned off the assembly premises. In the process, scores of people including opposition lawmakers were detained by the police.

The problem essentially hinges on the fact that neither coalition - the opposition Pakatan Rakyat nor the Barisan Nasional - recognises each other's authority. Nizar Jamaluddin, the former chief minister from Pakatan, continues to claim that he remains chief minister although the state's monarch appointed Barisan's Zambry Abdul Kadir in his place.

Meanwhile, Mr Sivakumar, a Pakatan lawmaker, insists he is still speaker although the Barisan claims to have appointed its representative R Ganesan to the chair.

In many ways, the situation in Perak mirrors the increasingly fractious nature of Malaysian national politics. But the state's case is even more untenable with more and more people concluding that the state is ungovernable and the situation can only be resolved through fresh polls. The latest to call for such a move was Barisan Nasional's Hamid Pawanteh, the Senate President and a former chief minister of northern Perlis state.

The Perak situation is complicated by the fact that the Pakatan lawmakers also refuse to accept a recent Federal Court decision that went against them on the grounds that the courts have no business interfering with the legislative based on the doctrine of separation of powers.

Last month, the Federal Court decreed that Mr Sivakumar did not have the power to suspend the Mr Zambry and six other Barisan lawmakers from the state assembly. That decision, in the eyes of the Barisan, legitimised their claim to power and paved the way for yesterday's sitting.

Perak has been in constitutional limbo since February 6. On that day, Sultan Azlan Shah, the state's monarch, ruled out fresh polls and recognised Barisan as the government after three oppositionists resigned their respective parties to become 'independents' supportive of the BN. The crossovers effectively toppled the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government.

Even so, the then chief minister Mr Jamaluddin refused to resign and, indeed, still claims to be the state's legitimate leader. To compound the matter, Mr Sivakumar reduced the BN's numbers in the assembly by suspending the seven men on 'disciplinary' grounds.

Yesterday's sitting was a farce and unprecedented in Malaysian parliamentary democracy. Mr Zambry repeatedly tried to table a motion to remove Mr Sivakumr as speaker but was repeatedly rebuffed by the speaker. In the end, Mr Ganesan was installed as the 'legitimate' speaker at one end of the House but shouting and pushing occurred when he attempted to take Mr Sivakumar's chair. This led to the physical ejection of Mr Sivakumar from the house.

Some semblance of order was restored after the regent Raja Nazrin Shah arrived at 3 pm, some six hours later than planned, to open the assembly. He spoke privately to the Pakatan leaders who then ordered all their assemblymen into the chamber for the Regent's speech.

The Regent's speech, however, avoided any mention of the constitutional brouhaha in his state. Instead, he spoke about the economy, the stimulus package, even swine flu.