The final legal battle between ousted Pakatan MB Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and BN MB Zambry Abdul Kadir on who is the rightful MB on Nov 5 in the Federal Court will determine the political future of the Silver state.

There is hope that the decision by the Federal Court panel of judges will put an end to the eight-month tussle between Pakatan and BN on which coalition should govern Perak.

nizar interview parliament 261009 “If the court rules in my favour than I shall seek the consent of the Sultan of Perak to dissolve the state assembly and call for fresh elections,” said Nizar.

“I believe it is the Perakians who will ultimately decide the political future of Pakatan Rakyat in the state.”

When asked if the court in this final hearing rules against him, he said, “Then it is up to Zambry to get the consent of the sultan to dissolve the assembly,” he said at a press conference in Ipoh.

Also at the press conference were top state Pakatan leaders as well as Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who was in Ipoh to attend the first Pakatan Rakyat convention.

However, DAP state chief Ngeh Koo Ham hinted that the Federal Court hearing next Thursday may not spell the end of the Perak imbroglio.

“The MB versus MB court case is not the end of the legal battle in Perak as we have still the speaker versus speaker court case and other cases pending in the courts.”

No wavering of Pakatan camaraderie

Earlier in his opening speech at the Pakatan convention, Nizar outlined the teething problems faced by the three coalition parties in forming the Pakatan Perak state government after winning the general elections on March 8 last year.

He recalled the many tempting offers of state posts and monetary gains if PAS was to join BN to form the next state government.

“They played the psychological game of race, religion and monetary benefits running into the millions for each of the six PAS assemblypersons if we were to join them in the new state government.

nizar appeal to federal court 190609 05 “They, in their political desperation, even went to the extent of contacting our family members including our brothers and mothers to persuade us to reconsider our decisions,” he continued.

“However, the tempting offers did not deter us from our PAS principle to form the new state government with DAP and PKR.”

Nizar alleged that state secretary Abdul Rahman Hashim was not only a thorn at the side of Pakatan but also a spy for BN on Pakatan’s state administration.

Nizar had subsequently appealed to the federal government to remove Rahman and replace him with another officer but this was turned down.

Touching on the February incident when BN took control of the state, Nizar said that on Feb 4, he had submitted to the Perak sultan seeking his consent to dissolve the state assembly after the defection of the three Pakatan assemblypersons to BN.

The next day he was at an official function in Bagan Serai with former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he received a call from the palace ordering him to return immediately to meet the sultan.

‘Walked out of palace’

“I was every excited as I believed that the sultan had given his consent to dissolve the Perak assembly and immediately rushed back to Ipoh.

“However, it turned out to be otherwise as the sultan wanted me to immediately tender my resignation as the menteri besar,” he lamented.

nizar jamaluddin win court case at duta court house 110509 02 “I had no time to contact the other Pakatan leaders for their advice on this new twist of events but I had to take a unilateral stand and refused to do so, and walked out.”

Recalling the administration of the state during his 10-month tenure, Nizar said, “Our biggest challenge at that time was to distribute the wealth of the state to all the 2.4 million Perakians but fate had decided otherwise.”

He said each of the opposition parties - PAS, DAP, PKR and Parti Sosialis Malaysia - on their own cannot oust the BN regime but by taking a united stand, they could realise their dream.