Eight months after being ousted as menteri besar of Perak, Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin still clings to hope that a snap election will be held soon to end the protracted political crisis in the state.

He said it is absolutely crucial for voters to be allowed to go back to the ballot box because of the economic and constitutional havoc the crisis has wreaked.

nizar interview parliament 261009 "There is no other remedy. Investors are putting on the brakes. Life may seem quite normal, but internally, there are financial constraints and economic activities are being hampered," Nizar told Malaysiakini .

Next month, the Federal Court will decide on Nizar's suit as to whether he or Barisan Nasional's Zambry Abd Kadir is the rightful menteri besar.

Nizar has never resigned from the post since his ouster in February.

Today, the Pakatan Rakyat coalition continues to operate a ‘state cabinet' and attempts to exert control over the legislative assembly under ‘speaker' V Sivakumar.

Nizar said Zambry should urge the Perak sultan to dissolve the state assembly as soon as possible to pave the way for fresh polls and to end the political crisis.

"My humble request to Zambry - if he wants to save Perak, help Perakians and put them first. He should seek the consent of the sultan to dissolve the state assembly.

"This will put him in a much more dignified position. I did that the minute the Kuala Lumpur High Court made a landmark decision," he said.

He was referring to his short-lived reinstatement as menteri besar on May 11. However, this was overturned on appeal the next day.

Nizar pledged that, should his application succeeded in the Federal Court, he will again seek the sultan's consent to dissolve the state assembly.

"That is my commitment if the decision of the apex court is favourable to me. We want to show that we are not going to cling to power, but instead want the public to decide," he said.

Signs of snap polls?

zambry abdul kadir interview 200409 10 Nizar conceded that there are signs that Zambry may indeed push for a snap election based on several recent events.

Among these are the Election Commission's call to voters to verify their names on the electoral roll and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's presence at the ‘1Malaysia with the People' event in Ipoh.

"During the whole fasting month (from late August), potential BN candidates were seen campaigning and giving away goodies. All this signals a possible snap election," he said.

Observers note that a snap election may be called if the Federal Court favours Nizar.

A second possibility is that BN may try to capitalise on its success at the Bagan Pinang by-election and call for a snap election within a few months to resolve the deadlock.

Nizar said he and colleagues in Pakatan are ready for fresh polls and have been ‘campaigning' since February.

Related report: 'Why Pakatan must convene Perak sitting'