Could this probably take place on May 7 at the Perak State Assembly

Come May 7, there will be fireworks at the Perak state assembly and all eyes will be on speaker V Sivakumar, who is expected to exercise his wide discretionary powers to frustrate Barisan Nasional’s plans.

Currently, there are already indications that BN’s Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir (right) and his six executive council members would be barred from entering the state assembly.

The seven were suspended from the house by the special privileges committee in February for contempt against the house. The committee’s decision was later adopted during the famous March 3 “tree assembly” and is held by Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers to be binding.

In a statement today, Perak Pakatan legal coordinator Ngeh Khoo Ham said not only was there no court order for the suspension to be revoked, Section 3 of the Legislative Assembly (Privileges) Enactment 1959 also provides the committee and its members legal immunity.

Previously, Zambry’s lawyers have claimed that they have successfully sought a declaration from the Federal Court to lift the suspension order, purportedly made by the speaker, which was said to be unlawful.

What about the sitting arrangements?

However, a chaotic situation might happen if Sivakumar orders for the removal of members from the state assembly and the sergeant-at-arms, a serving police officer, refuses to enforce the order. 

“In this case, the speaker will have to appoint someone else, which can be anyone, to replace the sergeant-at-arms and carry out the order,” opined veteran Selangor lawmaker and current Selangor speaker Teng Chang Khim.

Assuming that Zambry and his exco members manages to enter state assembly, they will still have to contend with the sitting arrangements which are expected to be maintained at status quo since the last time a normal sitting was held in November.

“The speaker has no reason to change the sitting arrangement, pending a legal dispute to determine the legitimate menteri besar,” said a source close to Perak Pakatan.

According to Standing Orders 2, the speaker can change sitting arrangements “as he may think fit” and his decision on such matters “shall be final”.

By convention, the government of the day would sit to the right of the speaker and the seat of the menteri besar would be closest to the speaker.

Who will hand over the sultan’s speech?

Other than embarrassment, the net effect of the sitting arrangement may result in Zambry losing his privileges and priorities accorded to the menteri besar in the house.

One such privilege is a special ceremony involving the handing over of the sultan’s speech by the menteri besar.

Since Sivakumar does not recognise Zambry as the menteri besar, the former is expected to call upon ousted Perak menteri besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin to hand the text to the sultan.

“If this happens, the sultan may not read the text and merely officiate the proceedings,” Teng commented.  

Another important aspect to the sitting is the motion by Zambry to appoint a new speaker in the form of MIC’s R Ganesan, the former Sungkai state assemblyperson.

The removal of Sivakumar would finally complete Zambry’s checkmate on Pakatan for total control of the legislative assembly. 

Speaker under round-the-clock protection

According to a April 27 notice issued by state assembly clerk Abdullah Antong Sabri, he had received a motion from Zambry on April 23 to sack the speaker.

It is however inconsequential if state assembly clerk received the motion ahead of the 14-day requirement as it is the speaker who determines if the criteria is fulfilled, said Nga. 

At the time of writing, it cannot be confirmed if Sivakumar had received Zambry’s motion in time.

Even if Zambry did meet the 14-day requirement, Sitiawan state representative Nga Kor Ming said that the standing orders still grants the speaker the right to reject any motions at his discretion.

For now, it would appear that for Zambry to get his way, Sivakumar must not be allowed to sit on the speaker’s chair, at all cost.

It is understood that Sivakumar has been under round-the-clock protection by Pakatan volunteers. [Source: Malaysiakini]

BERSIH - Wear black on May 7

The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, Bersih, today called on Malaysians to protest the power grab in Perak and put on a show of civil disobedience by wearing black on May 7 in conjunction with the sitting of the state assembly.

In a press conference today, Bersih accused Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of orchestrating the political coup in Perak and lambasted him for allegedly failing to keep his promise made under his 1Malaysia philosophy which puts people first, saying that putting people first would mean giving the voters of Perak the chance to determine the state government.

Taking a leaf from other civil obedience movements such as those organised by Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and even Umno’s “berkabung” movement to oppose the Malayan Union, Wong Chin Huat, a spokesman for Bersih, urged Malaysians who oppose the power grab to “let everyone see a sea of black walking into an office, market, mosque, temple, church, college, park, bus... let us be united in one black colour to show the world that the 1Malaysia under Najib Razak is 1BlackMalaysia living in darkness.”

Bersih also criticised the BN for practising “old politics” and trying to clamp down on media coverage and peaceful gatherings.

The Perak government had initially allowed only selected media to cover the assembly sitting. However, the decision was later reversed by Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir.

The police have also warned political parties against organising mass gatherings in front of the state secretariat.

Teo Nie Ching, DAP’s federal legislator from Serdang, says that she was queried by the Police Special Branch after she tried to organise a bus to ferry supporters to Ipoh and expressed her disappointment with the Special Branch.

“Why stop us from going to witness the assembly?” she told reporters.

Lim Teck Ghee, who represented the Centre for Policy Initiatives, urged solidarity despite “a propaganda war” to tar dissenting views as unpatriotic and treasonous.

“It is the duty of Malaysians to oppose illegal and unconstitutional acts of power grabbing,” he declared. “We are the patriotic ones.”

Lim was referring to accusations from BN that Nizar was committing treason by going against the Sultan of Perak’s wishes that he resign as mentri besar.

The political crisis in Perak was triggered by the defection of four state representatives from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to BN earlier this year, giving BN an edge in numbers over PR in the state assembly.

The Perak state assembly speaker however, claimed that three of the representatives who defected had resigned but this was disputed by the latter, who got the backing of the Election Commission.

Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, who maintains he is the rightful mentri besar, then sought permission from the Sultan of Perak to dissolve the state assembly to pave the way for a state election but his request was rejected and he was told to resign instead.

Nizar refused to resign but at the same time, Zambry was sworn in as the new mentri besar by the Sultan on February 6.

Since then, PR and BN have been locked in a struggle over who is the legitimate government of Perak and whether or not to dissolve the state assembly. [Source: MalaysianInsider]

Let' sing on May 7 2009

Will someone bring an acoustic guitar to Ipoh on May 7 2009, stand on a soapbox and sing this Bob Dylan song, The Times They Are A-Changin'.



Sing to the following lyrics because they are so relevant to the situation that Nizar and his comrades are facing today. This is for you, Zambry. Take heed of the prophecy of this song.

Come gather 'round people wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone,
For the times, they are a chang - in'

Come writers and critics who prophecies with your pen
And keep your eyes wide the chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon for the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who that it's namin'
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'

Come senators, congressmen please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside and it's ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land
And don't criticize what you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand
For the times they are a-changin'

The line it is drawn the curse it is cast
The slow one now will later be fast
As the present now will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin'
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'

The Countdown Begins

THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN. MAY 7 WILL SOON BE WITH US. LET'S SUPPORT NIZAR, THE LEGITIMATE MENTRI BESAR OF PERAK!

Someone posted this message:

AS AN ANAK PERAK 

YOU NEED TO SEND THIS SMS 

TO YOUR ANAK PERAK FRIENDS. 

NOBODY CAN STOP YOU FROM GETTING INTO IPOH. 

FLASH THEM THE 

08 

IN YOUR MyKAD!

LET'S TELL ZAMBRI 

THAT HE IS AN 

ILLEGITIMATE 

BECAUSE THE VOTERS IN PERAK

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER 

ANNOINTED HIM

AND NEVER WILL!

+++++

The MIGHT OF THE PEN 

says you have every 

legitimate right

to go into 

IPOH

on 07 May.

This message is not meant only for anak2 Perak, but also all anak2 Malaysia.

Fairus and PKR's evasive action

The reason why PKR decided to take evasive action is because they had learned a bitter lesson when two Pakatan Rakyat assembly persons in Perak were hit by a sting operation created by BN and they subsequently charged with corruption by the then ACA.

Using the corruption charges, the two were then blackmailed into jumping ship across to BN causing the Perak Pakatan government to fall.

You will notice that since these two ‘frogs' joined BN, their corruption case has been in like some kind of suspended animation and I don't think they will be charged at all unless they cause trouble for the BN government in Perak.

The same could have happened to Fairus Khairuddin if he had not resigned from his seat.

They would have charged him on some trumped up charges and blackmailed him to jump ship, thereby weakening Pakatan's government in Penang.

Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan were merely taking preventive measures to avoid another episode like the one that happened in Perak.

After Fairus quit, the MACC then came out with a statement that there was nothing concrete to charge Fairus with in relation to the quarry affair.

If he had not quit, it is anyone's guess if the charge would have been dropped at all.

PKR should give Mansor Othman's senate seat to Fairus since he has now been cleared by the MACC and he did the noble thing of resigning and is still faithful to PKR despite all the dirt thrown at him.

As for comparing Elizabeth Wong's case with Fairus' the writer is merely harping on what BN and Mohd Khir Toyo have been harping about - that she is guilty of misconduct as an elected representative.

If somebody peeped into you bathroom and took photos of you bathing and circulated it on the Internet for political reasons, is it the fault of the person in the photo or the person who distributed the photos.

BN people seem to have a warped sense of justice. We are all wondering why the police who know where the culprit is have not extradited him back to Malaysia to face charges.

One more thing. PKR has better start to look seriously into the behaviour of its Sungei Petani MP, Zulkifli Noordin, whose recent comments about the Indira Ghandi's conversion case is not being helpful at all. In fact, it is causing much discomfort among the non-Muslims. It is understandable if it comes from UMNO or the hardcore Muslim NGOs, but certainly not from a member of the opposition who was elected into office equally by the non-Muslims. If Zulkifli continues to harp on this issue, my suggestion is that he has to go or UMNO will exploit this opportunity to make themselves look like the good guys and PKR, the bad guys. The decision made by the BN 5-member committe is most laudable. So PKR, buckle up or be booted out.

Britain's Got Talent 2009

If you have been following the programme "Britain's Got Talent", the names of Paul Potts, Connie Talbot and Susan Boyle, should be familiar to you by now for their impeccable singing talent. Now get ready for another prospective outstanding talent who goes by the name of Hollie Steel. She is only 10 years old. The video below speaks for itself. Even good old Simon (Cowell) was caught by surprise the moment Hollie starts to sing. Oh, how I love her English ascent. Sort of remind me of Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady".

Goodness gracious, yet another case but this time, it is the mother

Malaysiakini today reported yet another conversion case, but this time it involves the mother and her two children.

For the last 10 months, gardener T Darma Kanu has been searching in vain for his two young sons after his wife left their home in Ipoh with them.

Three weeks ago, he received an affidavit dated April 1 stating that his wife, S Nalina Devi, had not only converted to Islam on Nov 21 last year, but had also converted the boys, aged six and five.

The documents sent by her lawyer included a Syariah Court order informing Darma to pay RM500 a month to Nalina for the children’s maintenance.

Darma, 38, who works for the Ipoh Municipal Council, told Malaysiakini that he has not seen his wife - now known as Nur Nalina Devi Abdullah - or the children since they left home on June 27 last year.

“I came home after work that night, but the house was empty. I called out for my wife but she was not there. All the things in the house were missing as well,” he recounted over the phone.

Neighbours later told him that his wife had hired a lorry to remove the household items.

He said she has not been in touch with him or even her own family since then. Although he had tried to contact her on her mobile phone, she did not answer the calls.

“I can't figure out why she left... we got married because we loved one another. She went off without saying anything. I just can't accept what had happened,” he said.

“My wife's family members are all supporting me because they don't know what came upon her to just take off like that.”

Darma said he reported her disappearance to the police, as he wanted to get his sons back. However, he claimed the police would not help on the ground that this was a family matter.

Last September, he filed an application in the Ipoh High Court, seeking access to and custody of his sons. He then sent a text message to his wife, asking if she wanted to be involved in a joint custody petition.

“At first she agreed. She called my lawyer and gave him an address... but when we went there to look for her, we found out that the place belonged to a man,” claimed Darma, saying he had reason to believe that it was someone who used to work with Nalina.

“The court proceedings went on as scheduled, but she never showed up. On Nov 21 last year, the High Court ruled that I could have interim access to my sons.”

Based on the affidavit, he realised that Nalina had converted to Islam with the boys that day.

“I suspect that she did so to escape her responsibilities to me, and so that she could stop me from seeing my children,” he said.

“She should not have done that. It is unfair to me. I too have a say as to what religion my children should be brought up in, until they are old enough to decide for themselves.”

Nonetheless, Darma said all he wants for now is to meet with his children, and to sort out other issues relating to his marital status later.

Although interim order was served on Nalina’s lawyer the same day it was issued by the court, Darma still has not seen the boys nor heard from his wife.

The case for permanent custody is scheduled to be heard in the High Court on May 20. Previous attempts to hold the hearing could not proceed because of Nalina’s absence.

When contacted today, Darma’s lawyer P Murali said Nalina’s case is being handled by the Legal Aid Bureau.

“When I asked why she wasn’t in court, they said she was in Johor Bahru with the children. When I asked for the address, they refused to divulge it even to the court. As such, the judge set a hearing date and ordered her to be present,” he said.

Should Nalina fail to respond to the subpoena for the upcoming hearing, said Murali, she could be cited for contempt and a warrant of arrest may be issued.

He also claimed that, although her lawyers had been present in court on all the mention dates, no one had informed Darma or the court of Nalina’s religious status.

This was only revealed when the affidavit arrived. In it, Nalina said she wanted the civil court to grant her permanent custody, since the Syariah Court hads already done so on Nov 27, 2008.

A member of Nalina’s legal team reserved comment when contacted, saying she would first have to refer the matter to her superior.