from Malaysiakini

Feb 8, 09 9:20pm

DAP chairperson Karpal Singh came under quick criticism today just hours after he called for Anwar Ibrahim to step down as the head of Pakatan Rakyat alliance.

Constitutional expert professor Abdul Aziz Bari said that Karpal’s grouse against Anwar over the latter’s policy on party hopping was weak and flawed.

“Hopping is legal and constitutional,” he told Malaysiakini.

He said that switching sides may even be approved by the voters.

“In any case come election they will decide whether it is moral or Otherwise,” he added.

And on the test of morality attached to these defections, Abdul Aziz said: “Simple. Don’t bribe, kidnap or intimidate members of parliaments or state assemblyperson.”

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By Hanna Yeoh

To those who argue that the political crisis in Perak now is a taste of Pakatan’sh own medicine (referring to the Sept 16 takeover plan), they have failed to see the key differences between the two. If you remember what happened when Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed to have the numbers to form the new federal government, he wrote to PM Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi requesting him to convene an emergency sitting of Parliament. This was rejected by the PM. The next constitutional option is to press for the dissolution of Parliament to make way for fresh new elections. That was also not entertained. Anwar Ibrahim exhausted the constitutional means that were available to him. If Pakatan were to act unconstitutionally and lure defections, then we will be having a new government today. But we didn’t and we will not act unconstitutionally. So you can’t say that Najib’s coup and Pakatan’s plan were one and the same.

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BismilahirRahmanirRahim.

Saya bersyukur ke hadrat Allah SWT atas kesihatan tubuh badan dan kesabaran yang dianugerahkanNya kepada saya dan seluruh rakyat negeri Perak Darul Ridzuan.

Saya mengambil kesempatan ini untuk menerangkan beberapa perkara berkaitan perkembangan krisis di negeri Perak terutamanya selepas upacara angkat sumpah Menteri Besar baru negeri ini yang berlangsung di Istana Iskandariah petang tadi.

Dengan penuh rasa tanggungjawab, sukacita saya menyatakan bahawa perlantikan Menteri Besar baru itu sesungguhnya adalah tidak mengikut Undang-Undang Perlembagaan Negeri sebagaimana sepatutnya.

Apabila saya tidak meletak jawatan seperti yang dititahkan oleh DYMM Paduka Seri Sultan Perak, sebenarnya saya telah pun meneliti semua undang-undang dan peraturan yang berkaitan serta telah mendapatkan pandangan dan nasihat daripada ahli dan pakar undang-undang.

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Oleh Khalid Jaafar

Ada tiga bentuk budaya politik Melayu berhubungan dengan kekuasaan. Yang pertama ditujukan oleh Hang Tuah, kesetiaan membuta tuli, menerima raja tidak melakukan kesalahan- rex non potest peccare-, kedua ditampilkan oleh Hang Jebat dengan ungkapan “raja adil raja disembah, raja zalim raja disanggah”, keadilan mesti ditegakan meskipun langit runtuh. Dan ditengah-tengah kedua kutub pendirian ini kita melihat sikap Tun Perak, orang yang tahu mana yang adil dan mana yang zalim dan untuk menegakan keadilan terdapat cara-cara yang berbeda dan pilihan tersebut menuntut kebijaksanaan.

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Oleh Khalid Jaafar

Nizar Jamaludin telah mencipta ungkapan yang akan menjadi klasik dan akan menjadi renungan. Ia bertali-tali dalam SMS, diulang sebut dalam Facebook dan lain-lain wahana. Apa yang berlaku adalah proses perundingan dan pentakrifan kolektif budaya politik Melayu.

Nizar dititah undur sebagai menteri besar dan menteri besar itu “menyembah mohon derhaka,” satu ungkapan yang oxymoron kerana pantang Melayu menderhaka kepada raja. Derhaka dalam erti kata yang mudah adalah tidak patuh kepada raja. Dalam konteks sistem politik dimana sultan memiliki kuasa mutlak derhaka adalah satu perlanggaran yang berat.

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Ashvin Raj menulis pandangannya di laman Malaysiakini:

I would like to highlight a main difference between Anwar’s attempt of Sept 16 to form a new government and what’s going on in Perak. Anwar said that he had the numbers. He did not say that he ‘bought them’ for a price.

Anwar only gave a call but no money was offered. In this Perak case, a statutory declaration made by a PKR member strongly alleges that money ranging in the millions was offered to Pakatan YBs in order to entice them to crossover.

In this sense, money is the main difference here. I doubt PKR offered any sum of money to BN reps to join Pakatan, as they don’t have access to huge federal funds, unlike BN which has millions of ringgit as the federal government of the day.

What has happened in Perak is cowardice to say the least. The people’s mandate had not been given to BN to rule Perak, but to Pakatan.

I don’t blame the Sultan of Perak, but Najib and his cronies for enticing politicians from Pakatan to join them. This is most shameful and cowardly in that they used a bait of millions of ringgit to lure them.

Were there any monies offered by Pakatan to any BN rep before Sept 16 to join Pakatan and form a new federal government?

Of course, it is ethically wrong to hop from one party to another. But my point here is this, who has the stronger bargaining power when it comes to enticing YBs to crossover?

Certainly it is the one with the most funds and assets accumulated over the past 50 years and that is none other than the corrupt BN regime led by Najib.

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Terima kasih saudara Ashvin kerana prihatin sekali. Malah saya sedia meneliti hujah pengunjung meskipun kritikal terhadap pendirian kami. Sayugia diulangi peringatan mengenai singgungan lucah, fitnah dan rendah akalbudi. Saudara-saudari dipohon mengenepikan saja luahan sengsara dan bebal seperti ini dengan mempertahankan akhlak dan budi pekerti.

Percubaan meleset para soldadu tua dan muda yang mendakwa mirip persamaan adegan “lompat” UMNO-BN dengan saranan saya sebelum ini! Dan sepertimana yang dihebah oeh TV3 umpamanya ternyata hambar kerana mempertahankan adegan ala penculikan, rasuah dan ugutan dengan arahan Dato’ Seri Najib.

Pelawaan saya adalah secara terbuka dan sambutan juga harus telus. Tidak ada yang dilari atau disembunyikan dari keluarga sendiri, diugut atau disogok. Kalangan yang memilih untuk menyertai Pakatan Rakyat harus akur dengan agenda perubahan serta menolak kerakusan kuasa dan rasuah.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

oleh Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin

Demokrasi telah mati di Perak, itu anggapan saya sebaik saja Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir berjaya mengangkat sumpah sebagai MB Perak yang baru, kononnya. Hakikat sebenar Zambry hanya menjadi MB untuk BN, bukan MB untuk rakyat Perak.

Saya percaya di kepala ramai pimpinan Umno khususnya Najib Tun Razak, itu kejayaan maha-besar yang boleh meningkatkan imej Najib di mata perwakilan Umno sempena Perhimpunan Agung Umno Mac depan.

Saya berminat untuk menyanggah kenyataan Najib sebagaimana yang dilaporkan oleh Bernama hari ini. Najib mengatakan kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang baru dibentuk di Perak diharapkan akan terus kekal walaupun dengan majoriti mudah.

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from Malaysiakini

Feb 7, 09 4:03pm

Constitutional expert professor Aziz A Bari today said that the Sultan of Perak had no powers under the state constitution to “hire or fire” a menteri besar.

He said that while that was the position before independence, the post-Merdeka constitution made it very clear that the menteri besar does not hold office at the sultan’s pleasure.

“The state constitution, along with the federal constitution, states that the menteri besar holds the office at the sultan’s pleasure subject to the provision of the menteri besar holding the confidence in the state assembly,” he told Malaysiakini.

“The important factor to consider here is Article 16(6) of the Perak constitution which states that the menteri besar shall only step down if he ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the legislative assembly.

“And that too only unless at his request, the sultan dissolves the legislative assembly,” he added.
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