Media Conference Statement (2) by Lim Kit Siang in DAP PJ Hqrs on Tuesday, 12^th May 2009 at 12 noon: 

In his keynote address at the 13th Malaysian Banking Summit, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that he was now on the “important quest” of “regaining public trust”.

If Najib is serious about his “important quest” to regain public trust, he should not prolong the Perak political impasse; be bold enough to “cut losses” and stop all appeals against the judgment by Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge, Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim yesterday in the Nizar vs Zambry case declaring that Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin is the valid Perak Mentri Besar; and agree to the dissolution of Perak Assembly to hold new state elections for Perakians to elect the government they want.

Najib should pay heed to Tengku Razaleigh’s call to the Sultan of Perak to dissolve the State Assembly to end the Perak crisis.

I fully endorse Tengku Razaleigh’s statement when he said that the dissolution of the Perak Assembly “is the decent thing to do, but also the only way out of a crisis which has already spiralled out of Perak, damaged the rule of law, compromised the judiciary, the police and the state civil service, and damaged the monarchy in public opinion.”

Tengku Razaleigh said:

“The High Court has thereby affirmed the primacy of the Constitution. This judgment brings to a head some of the consequences of our constitutional misadventure in Perak.

“The government led by Datuk Seri Zambry was all along illegitimate and all decisions and contracts made by that government are without legal status.

“It means the resolution to replace the Speaker was brought by an illegal state government.”

Is Najib prepared to “cut losses” for the interests of democracy and the higher interests of the nation, or will be dig his toes in to plunge Perak and Malaysia into a greater crisis of democracy, destroying his own “important quest” of “regaining public trust”?

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