'A constitutional crisis is brewing'

A prominent lawyer and former United Nations special rapporteur said it would be extremely difficult for either of the two sides to rule effectively in Perak.

"A constitutional crisis is brewing," former UN special rapporteur for judicial independence Param Cumaraswamy told AFP .

Cumaraswamy's remarks came after Pakatan Rakyat refused a royal command to give up control of Perak where Barisan Nasional says it has seized power, setting the stage for a political crisis.

The Perak state government building has been surrounded by hundreds of police including officers in riot gear, and no one was being allowed in or out, eyewitnesses said.

Perak's royal ruler, Sultan Azlan Shah, earlier today refused the opposition's request to dissolve the state parliament, after its narrow majority was snatched away with the defection of four lawmakers.

The sultan asked chief minister Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and his executive council to resign and said if they do not, the posts "are considered vacant," the official news agency Bernama reported.

But Mohammad Nizar said the Pakatan alliance would not leave office, and that he expected police to try to arrest him and remove him from his official residence in the state capital Ipoh.

"I was asked by the Perak sultan to resign but I told him I did not intend to do so," he told a press conference at the residence.

"I explained to his majesty that following a guidebook that the Perak sultan had written on the monarchy, the sultan should follow my advice as leader of the house to dissolve the assembly."

Sultan Azlan Shah has written in Constitutional Monarchy, Rule of Law and Good Governance in 2004 that no sultan or agung had withheld consent to dissolve legislative body, except in Kelantan in 1977.

"Under normal circumstances, it is taken for granted that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong would not withhold his consent to a request for dissolution of parliament. His role is purely formal," he added.

Mohammad Nizar said the state's top civil servant had informed him that he was now in charge as there was no effective government.

Anwar appeals for calm

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who also attended the press conference, appealed for calm, even as the opposition plans a major protest at the chief minister's residence later Thursday.

"I would like to thank the Perak sultan for addressing this issue and I hope that this situation will not dissolve into violence and that the whole democratic process should be allowed to take its course," he said.

"The sultan will be well advised to dissolve the assembly so that fresh elections could be called, to enable the electorate to once again choose the government it wants," added Cumaraswamy.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak had earlier petitioned the sultan to give his blessing to the BN coalition's bid to take control of the state assembly, which the opposition won in general elections last March.

The opposition had held 32 seats in the 59-seat assembly, with BN holding 28. Najib said one of the defectors would rejoin the coalition and another three would be independent but support the government.

The victory in Perak is a huge coup for Najib, who is to replace unpopular premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi next March, and will boost his credentials within the ruling party which has been in crisis since the 2008 polls.

The win follows two losses in parliamentary by-elections which were seen as a sign that the coalition has failed to claw back support following the elections.

But analysts have warned Perak could be an empty victory for Barisan Nasional because voters could see the move as undemocratic and more of the old-style dirty politics that were rejected at the ballot box last year.

Related reports

Perak turmoil: Sultan has final say

BN may face backlash over takeover

Who will win Perak by-elections?