Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, 26^th April 2009: 

Zambry should call off the May 7 Perak State Assembly meeting as it is improperly convened against Najib’s public stand that the Perak Assembly cannot meet until the court has ruled that BN is the legal government in Perak

The usurper Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir should call off the May 7 Perak State Assembly meeting as it is improperly convened against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s public stand that the Perak State Assembly cannot meet until the court has ruled that the Barisan Nasional is the legal government in Perak.

This was the position of Najib, who was then the Deputy Prime Minister, Perak UMNO Chairman and who personally orchestrated the undemocratic, unethical, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak resulting in the three-month political and constitutional stalemate producing two Mentris Besar and even two secretaries to the Perak State Assembly!

This is the Sunday Star report of March 1, 2009, headlined “Perak assembly cannot meet until court decides, says DPM” on Najib’s response to the convening of a State Assembly meeting by the Perak Speaker, V. Sivakumar which eventually became the historic “Tree Perak State Assembly”:

Sunday March 1, 2009

Perak assembly cannot meet until court decides, says DPM

KUANTAN: The Perak State Assembly Speaker cannot call an emergency sitting of the assembly as the court has yet to decide on the status of the government, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“By right, the sitting should not be called as we are still awaiting the decision of the court.

“We want to establish the fact that Barisan is the legal government to rule the state in accordance with the constitution,” he said after opening the national higher learning carnival at Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) here yesterday.

On Friday, Speaker V. Sivakumar said the assembly would convene the sitting on Tuesday to vote on two motions, including one seeking to dissolve the State Assembly.

Asked if the move was aimed at toppling the Barisan Nasional government, Najib said the court’s decision would put the matter to rest.

As up to now the Court has not made any decision that the Barisan Nasional is the legal government in Perak state, the May 7 State Assembly should not be convened and should be called off until there is such a judicial decision.

In the circumstances, any public posturings by Zambry that the Barisan Nasional will not participate in the “fight for chairs” to claim the seats of the Mentri Besar and the State exco members in the State Assembly is not only premature but presumptuous.

Five days ago on 21st April, Zambry filed an urgent application to the Federal Court for a declaration that he is the lawful Mentri Besar and he now expects such a declaration to be made by the Federal Court on Tuesday 28th April 2009.

For two-and-a-half months from Feb. 6 to April 21, Zambry did not move the Federal Court for such a declaration.

What made Zamry think that the Federal Court could be at his beck and call, that he could successfully move the Federal Court to secure such a declaration in a matter of a week, when for two-and-a-half months from Feb. 6 to April 21, 2009 he did not make such an application to the Federal Court?

Does Zambry think he belongs to a special category of persons who is privileged to short-circuit the whole process of the administration of justice so as to move the Federal Court, the highest court of the land, to rush to judgment in his favour with inadequate notice to all the relevant parties concerned?

Malaysians will be very shocked if Zambry succeeds in getting such a declaration from the Federal Court on Tuesday with such short notice.

But even with such a Federal Court declaration on Tuesday, the May 7 State Assembly should be called off as Zambry could only properly convene his first State Assembly meeting, with the requisite notice of 14 days to all State Assembly members, after a favourable Federal Court decision on Tuesday – which means the earliest Zambry can convene a proper Perak State Assembly meeting will be May 13, 2009!

Senior and Umno lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had predicted in a public forum on the Perak crisis two nights ago that there would be “chaos” in the May 7 Perak State Assembly.

This is a further reason why Zambry should call off the May 7 Perak State Assembly especially it would be contrary to the public stand that has been taken by Najib on the matter.

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor