Barisan Nasional believes that it can retain a majority in the state assembly and win 34 seats if the Perak state assembly is dissolved today.

Lenggong assemblyperson Tajol Rosli Ghazali, in moving a motion to thank the royal address, said that the coalition has been “performing its own analysis” and in the event the general election is held soon Perak BN would be able to perform better than it did in 2008.

During the general election held in March 2008, Umno won 27 of the 34 seats it contested and MCA took one seat, resulting in the coalition winning just 28, three short of a simple majority in the Perak legislature.

The opposition DAP won all 18 seats it contested, while PKR took seven and PAS won six, following which Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin (PAS-Pasir Panjang) became Perak Mentri Besar.

However, three Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen have since quit their parties to become Independents aligned with BN, triggering a constitutional crisis in the silver state.

The Pakatan government was forcibly removed from power and after the take-over BN anointed Zambry Abdul Kadir as the Menteri Besar.

Commenting on the opposition’s gripes about BN’s takeover in the state, Tajol Rosli ( right ) criticised Parliamentary opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, saying that the latter had once planned a coup on Sept 16, 2008.

Citing a Malay proverb, the former menteri besar said “ jangan jadi ketam yang mahu ajar orang lain berjalan lurus (don’t be a crab that tries to teach others to walk straight)”, aiming his remarks at Sitiawan assemblyperson Ngeh Koo Ham, who interjected during his speech.

He reminded the opposition to stop bringing up the issue of the power transition in Perak and to accuse them of hijacking the state.

Ngeh, however, defended that he was against the Sept 16 plan, saying “I objected to it because I believe in democracy and the people’s choice”.

Nga accused of flaunting dress code

Meanwhile, BN also took a swipe at Pantai Remis DAP assemblyperson Nga Kor Ming for choosing to dress in a grey suit during the opening ceremony yesterday instead of the assembly’s conventional first uniform.  

Nga, who was not present today, was admonished by Zambry (BN-Pulau Pangkor) hinting that the latter intended to disrespect the Raja Muda of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah.

“When the Pakatan Rakyat government was being sworn in he wore the uniform but why didn’t he yesterday?” he asked.

Coming to Nga’s aid, Ngeh said the first uniform was not a compulsory attire and that Nga did not disobey the standing orders as he was in formal attire.

As a war of words unfolded between the government and opposition, speaker R Ganesan stepped in and said that taking action against Nga would only be turned into a “political tool” during campaigns.

He added that Nga did not break the rules of the House and told the debaters to stick to matters that concern the state.

Nga, who was questioned on the matter, stressed that he often wore a suit and only once had he had worn the first uniform.

“It’s not against the rules to wear the suit... I wore a suit to Parliament during the official opening ceremony by the Agong... this is a non-issue,” Nga, who is also the Taiping MP, told Malaysiakini .

'Stop scanning only Pakatan reps'

Former menteri besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin also came under fire from the government bench for raising concerns over partisan security measures and high number of police personnel surrounding the state assembly.

The PAS Pasir Panjang assemblyperson, who is clearly still sore over the way BN had wrenched power from Pakatan two years ago, reiterated his accusations that BN was acting unfairly in its treatment towards the opposition.

Mohammad Nizar, who took almost an hour to deliver his thanks to the royal address, kept lashing out at the government for “hijacking” the state’s administration away from Pakatan.

“The police had checked all the Pakatan leaders with metal detectors but not those from Barisan. If this goes on the assembly will be ridiculed by the public. The assembly is even cordoned from the media, who are only allowed to cover from the broadcast outside,” he complained.

At this juncture, a BN backbencher was heard shouting that “even in Parliament security checks are done... you are trying to diver attention to yourself”.

Ganesan then interrupted the racket and informed Mohammad Nizar that he had ordered the police to perform security checks to avoid any uncalled for situation.

On another note, Mohammad Nizar also asked the government to come clear on the speculations that an executive councillor is being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Nga had initially called upon the state to suspend the executive councillor until the anti-graft agency wrapped up its investigations.

Mohammad Nizar, who echoed the concern in Nga’s absence, demanded to know if the speculations were true.

“The state’s integrity is at stake,” said Mohammad Nizar, adding that swift action must be taken to salvage the state’s image from eroding further.