Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin today took the risk of irking the Perak ruler by refusing the step down from his menteri besar post after being told to do so by the sultan.

"I apologise for rejecting the decision of the sultan. We are just pleading for the proper process to be followed," he told reporters after attending a meeting of Pakatan Rakyat leaders at the menteri besar's residence in Ipoh this afternoon.

Mohd Nizar argued that the sultan should have accepted his request for the assembly to be dissolved.

"Let the people determine on who they want as their representatives. If BN wins, we will accept it willingly," he said.

perak bn takeover crisis 050209 anwar and nizar He also asked the people to be patient and understand the issue at hand.

Mohd Nizar also wrote a letter to the sultan to explain his reasons not to resign as menteri besar. [ See letter here ]

He said that the state constitution said the support for menteri besar must be decided by the state assembly.

In addition to that, he reiterated that it was wrong to assume that the BN had the majority in the assembly.

"We should wait for the court decision on that matter," he said.

kedah state seat breakdown 050209 He informed the sultan that he has been told by the Pakatan Rakyat leadership not to step down until "the constitutional crisis in the state has been settled by the court or by the state assembly".

The embattled menteri besar added that the assembly speaker had filed a suit this morning on the validity of the resignation letters submitted by three state representatives who had defected to Barisan Nasional from Pakatan.

According to him, the sultan had this morning told him that BN now had the majority of seats in the state assembly.

"He asked me to resign and said he will not allow for the dissolution of the assembly," said Mohd Nizar.

BN majority under dispute

Mohd Nizar however disputed the majority enjoyed by BN in the assembly, stating that both Pakatan and BN have 28 members each, with the status of the other three yet to be determined by the court.

pakatan leaders pc on perak bn takeover mb residence 050209 02 "The BN's majority may not be a valid one," he said.

"It is wrong for BN to assume (it has a) majority. I have told this to sultan that we have same number of members and there is no majority. So, on that basis I appealed to sultan for dissolution."

He added that if the court application was successful, the BN will not have a majority.

"We are still in government. We have not dissolved (the assembly)," he added.

The Pakatan government has taken the view that the resignation letters submitted by the three were valid and the assembly speaker had vacated their seats accordingly, necessitating by-elections within 60 days.

However the three - Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang), Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering) and Hee Yit Fong (Jelapang) - had claimed that their resignation letters signed soon after being elected in March last year were made under duress.

The Election Commission agreed with the trio and has overruled the speaker's decision in declaring the seats vacant. The speaker has today gone to the High Court to determine the status of the seats.

Mohd Nizar also expressed his anger at the state secretary Abdul Rahman Hashim who told him that he was no longer the menteri besar.

perak bn takeover crisis 050209 fru block suk "I had a word with him a moment ago and he said that he was in full command of the state secretariat and that I am no longer the menteri besar... and that there is no menteri besar now.

"Under what prerogative is he doing that? As far as we are concerned, we are still the legitimate government of the people," he said.

"I will still go to my office tomorrow. They have no right to stop me. Under what instruction (can they stop me)?.

"I appealed to the sultan to adhere to what is stipulated in constitution, that the sultan must allow the state assembly to decide so that a vote of no confidence is done. That is best way," he said.

He however refused to speculate if he would survive a vote of no confidence.

Pakatan wants to meet sultan

Speaking at the same press conference, Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim rejected talks that the Mohd Nizar's actions were acts of defiance against the sultan.

pakatan leaders pc on perak bn takeover mb residence 050209 03 He also said that if the BN takeover was allowed, it would bring destruction of democratic system in the country.

Anwar also said that the Pakatan leaders would like to meet the sultan to explain to him their stand on this matter.

Meanwhile, PAS leader Abdul Hadi Awang said that the menteri besar would not resign unless a special state assembly session was called or fresh elections held.

"We also hope the people would remain calm and not break the law," he said at the press conference.

While BN had been working at breakneck speed in getting their representatives sworn in as soon as possible so that they can take over the government, the Pakatan faction has been asking the sultan to dissolve the assembly so that fresh polls could be held.

According to experts, the impasse is now turning into a constitutional crisis.

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