Courts, and not the Perak sultan or menteri besar, should be interpreting constitutional issues, said lawyer Philip Koh.

nizar interview parliament 261009 Koh, legal counsel for deposed Perak menteri besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin, made the statement in a submission to the Federal Court last week.

"It is the court which interprets and not His Royal Highness. It is neither the menteri besar nor even the legislative assembly that has the interpretive function over the constitution."

According to Koh, based on Article 64 of the Perak Constitution, the Perak sultan can refer issues such as the contention for the menteri besar post to the Federal court.

In his submission, Koh wrote, "This will shield the ruler from criticism and contestations by either side of the divide. This also insulates the ruler from the sordid business of political horse trading."

A copy of the submission notes was made available to Malaysiakini recently as the appeal was heard within a short span of a day last Thursday. The judgement has been reserved for another date.

Palace intervention in Perak

Koh said the hearing is done in an open court so that all reasoning can be aired publicly, ensuring the right decisions are made.

According to the facts, Koh said there was no motion of confidence passed against Nizar in the state legislative assembly against him.

malaysian law conference 291007 sultan azlan shah 1 Sultan Azlan Shah (left) had taken it upon himself to conduct an inquiry by meeting with Barisan Nasional (BN) elected representatives and the three BN-friendly independents to vouch who has the majority.

In the end, Nizar was not sacked but asked to vacate his seat. In a press statement released by the palace Feb 5, it stated that if Nizar was not willing to resign from his menteri besar post along with his exco, then their positions would then be deemed vacant.

Koh also submitted that the Ruler has no express power to sack the menteri besar, resulting in Nizar's taking this action to court.

MB holds office at legislature's pleasure

Koh said the menteri besar's post is held under the pleasure of the legislature and not the Ruler although he appoints them.

"This also precludes any suggestion that His Royal Highness has the power to dismiss (menteri besars)," the lawyer said.

NONE He also submitted that the ruler should have been allowed to calmly assess the situation. This did not happen in Perak, for then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak (right) and his entourage went to the palace.

However, he noted earlier Nizar had applied to dissolve the assembly as there was a deadlock following the uncertainty in the status of the three assemblypersons and that the Pakatan Rakyat leader had lost the majority.

"Nizar had also submitted a letter to the ruler for his status to be determined by the legislature or the courts. This was also evident in a letter by Speaker V Sivakumar dated Feb 6, in urging the convening of the assembly as soon as possible and that the swearing in of Dr Zambry be deferred until the assembly is held," Koh said.

"Nizar was not dishonourable and not afraid to face the assembly or the court."

Koh reiterated again that the ruler cannot dismiss the menteri besar, and it can only be done by a vote of no confidence in the assembly. He said the ruler should not take it on himself to interpret and conduct an inquiry as to who has the majority as the constitution is supreme and such interpretation was best left to the courts.

Besides Koh, Nizar has also appointed lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah and lawyer Chan Kok Keong to handle the case.