Media Statement (3) by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, 24^th May 2009: 

Emergency assembly an option to end Perak crisis? Forget about it Najib, impasse will get worse. Only option – hold elections now!

Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that an emergency meeting of the Perak State Assembly is an option to end the political and constitutional impasse in Perak.

Let me tell Najib – forget about it, as such an emergency Assembly meeting is no viable option and it could only make the impasse worse, dragging the nearly four-month-old political and constitutional crisis and stalemate indefinitely into the future.

What is worse, the protracted political and constitutional crisis and stalemate will stand as the strongest testament debunking Najib’s slogan of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now”.

What right as anyone to talk about 1Malaysia when he is incapable of promoting 1Perak, in fact single-handedly responsible for the political and constitutional impasse in orchestrating the unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab since early February?

Najib should bite the bullet and agree that the only way to end the political and constitutional impasse in Perak is to dissolve Perak State Assembly and return the mandate to Perakians in a state-wide general elections so that Malaysians can turn from the Perak stalemate to reunite to face the worst global economic crisis in a century.

Najib should learn the lesson why Michael Martin became the first House of Commons Speaker for 300 years to resign, even giving up his seat as MP – because had had lost all moral authority to continue in the office in the UK parliamentary expenses scandal.

There can be no dispute that Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir has no “moral authority” in the first place to become Perak Mentri Besar unless he wins the mandate in a general election.

How can Zambry ground his moral authority on three “frog” state assembly members in Perak who have gone into public hiding in the past four months as they dare not even show their faces in their constituencies except under heavy security protection, for they know that the ordinary public have not forgiven them for their dishonourable betrayal of public trust and mandate.

No amount of political shenanigans and judicial contortions can give Zambry any moral authority, which can only be found in a new polls in Perak.

Najib should spare the key national institutions in the country from further damage, as he would be doing even more harm to all the key national institutions in undermining public confidence in their credibility, integrity and legitimacy in his stubborn refusal to accept the hard reality that the only viable democratic and honourable option to resolve the Perak constitutional crisis is to dissolve the Perak State Assembly and .hold new state general elections.

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