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No. 4691 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Thursday
February 5, 2009
TELLING IT AS IT IS www.sun2surf.com

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INTERVIEWS VIEWS

objections
BERNAMAPIX

POLITICAL TURMOIL
IN PERAK
Jan 25: Umno’s Bota assemblyman
Nasarudin Hashim joins PKR.

Jan 28: PKR assemblymen and

state executive councillors Mohd Os-
man Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering) and
Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) go
missing.

Feb 1: DAP’s Jelapang assemblyman

and State Assembly Deputy Speaker
Support Hee Yit Foong “disappears”.
for BN ...
Najib with (from Monday: State Assembly Speaker
left) Nasarudin, V. Sivakumar informs Perak Election
Mohd Osman, Hee Commission that Changkat Jering and

Perak govt falls

and Jamaluddin Behrang are vacant and submits Os-
at his office man and Jamaluddin’s resignation let-
in Putrajaya ters. Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Moham-
yesterday after mad Nizar Jamaluddin has a 30-minute
announcing that audience with Sultan Azlan Shah.
the BN had the
mandate to form Tuesday: Election Commission rules
the next Perak that Osman and Jamaluddin remain
state government. as elected representatives because of
doubts over their resignation letters.

by Maria J. Dass
newdesk@thesundaily.com » NAJIB: BN HAS MANDATE TO FORM GOVT » BOTA REP RETURNS TO Yesterday
Morning: Hee quits DAP to become an
UTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime UMNO » TWO EXCO MEN QUIT PKR TO BE INDEPENDENTS » DEPUTY Independent assemblyman.

P Minister Datuk Seri Najib

Abdul Razak
announced that Barisan
yesterday

Nasional now has the mandate to

take over the Perak government
SPEAKER HEE QUITS DAP TO BE INDEPENDENT » ALL TO BACK BN
also met me to say that he wants to Sivakumar that they are no longer blame the BN.
Afternoon: PKR’s new representative
Nasarudin now goes missing.

4pm: Nizar heads to Istana Kinta to have

from Pakatan Rakyat (PR), with
the return of Bota assemblyman
Datuk Nasarudin Hashim to Umno
and the support of three former PR
assemblymen who quit their
parties to become independents.
Speaking at a short press
conference at his office, he said:
“BN Perak has the majority
assemblymen in the state when
three assemblymen, Jamaluddin
Mohd Radzi (Behrang), Kapt Mohd
Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jer-
ing) and Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang)
informed me that they have each
sent letters to Sultan of Perak Sul-
tan Azlan Shah to inform him they
have left their respective parties.”
Jamaluddin and Osman won
their seats on Parti Keadilan Rakyat
(PKR) tickets while Hee won Jela-
pang as a DAP candidate and made
history as the first woman deputy
state legislative speaker.
“Today (Tuesday) Bota assem-
blyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim
rejoin Umno,” Najib said.
All four assemblymen were with
Najib at the press conference.
Nasarudin had defected to PKR
on Jan 25, causing a furore in
Perak Umno that ended with Najib
taking over as state Umno liaison
and BN chief from former mentri
besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli.
This means the BN and PR
both have 28 seats. Asked how this
would work out as both have an
equal number of seats in the 59-
seat assembly, he said: “The three
independents have pledged their
support for the BN; so we have 31
seats against 28.”
Najib denied that the three as-
semblymen were bought over.
“The trio (Jamaluddin, Hee
and Osman) have also given me
the mandate to nominate the new
mentri besar,” he said.
All four assemblymen (includ-
ing Nasarudin) have informed
the state assembly Speaker V.
members of the respective parties.
Asked why BN was willing to
be associated with Jamaluddin and
Osman who have been tainted by
corruption charges, Najib replied:
“We have no problem, that is a
separate issue.”
He said Perak law stated that
a mentri besar who had lost the
confidence of the majority had to
relinquish his position together
with his executive council mem-
bers. “We will be meeting the
Sultan to inform him that BN now
has the majority.”
Asked what would happen if the
Sultan dissolved the assembly to
allow fresh elections as requested
by the PR government yesterday,
Najib said: “That is entirely the
prerogative of the Sultan.”
Speaking of the PR, he said:
“They probably did not expect
this, but they wanted to form the
government without following the
due democratic process – so don’t
“Everything is the will of God,
we are thankful for this. We did not
start this, but somebody wanted
to form the government on Sept
16,” he said, alluding to Anwar’s
much-hyped boast to take over the
federal government.
On a statement by mentri besar
Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar
Jamaluddin that Nasarudin’s wife
had claimed that her husband had
been “kidnapped”, both Najib and
Nasarudin denied the claim.
Nasarudin said: “With con-
sciousness and a sense of respon-
sibility, I have rejoined Umno and
BN as of today. This is after listen-
ing to views and advice from po-
litical friends and individuals who
want to see stability and a strong
government in Perak. The present
tumultuous political climate in
the state has resulted in a weak
government. I have also taken into
account and respect the voters of
Bota and democratic principles.”
an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah.
4.30pm: Jamaluddin, Osman and Hee
are seen in Deputy Prime Minister and
Perak Barisan Nasional (BN) chief Datuk
Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s office in Putra-
jaya.
5.10pm: Najib announces that the BN
has the support of the four former PR
assemblymen – three “BN-friendly”
Independents and Nasarudin rejoin-
ing Umno. Najib says he will seek an
audience with Sultan Azlan as soon as
possible.
5.45pm: Nizar leaves the palace after
audience with Sultan Azlan to request
that the state assembly be dissolved.
Note: With the changes in the political
alliances of the four assemblymen, both
BN and PR have 28 assemblymen each,
with three pro-BN Independents in the
59-seat State Assembly.

Sultan has two options – BN govt or fresh elections

by Humayun Kabir
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
IPOH: The solution to Perak’s political
impasse now lies with Sultan Azlan
Shah who has two options:
» Allow the Barisan Nasional, which
has majority support (31 assemblymen
vs 28 for the Pakatan Rakyat) in the
59-seat Legislative Assembly, to form
a new government; or
» Grant Mentri Besar Datuk Sri
Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin’s request
to dissolve the state assembly and get
a fresh mandate from voters.
The latest episode of the 11-day-
old political drama in the Silver State
started at 3pm yesterday when
Nizar announced to a packed press
conference at his office that three PR
assemblymen – Behrang’s Jamaludin
Mohd Radzi and Changkat Jering’s
Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (of PKR) and
Jelapang’s Hee Yit Foong (DAP) – had
resigned from their respective parties
and were now independents.
There was an added intrigue
when during the press conference
Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarud-
din Hashim’s wife rang up Nizar and
alleged that her husband had been
“kidnapped” from his home and taken
to Kuala Lumpur on the pretext of
meeting the Perak Raja Muda.
Nizar blamed Umno for playing
“dirty politics” to destabilise the 11-
month-old PR government.
Last night, speaking to reporters
after attending PAS’s emergency meet-
ing at the party headquarters and after
an audience with the Sultan of Perak,
Sultan Azlan Shah, earlier in the day,
Nizar said he was confident the Ruler
would make a fair and just decision
to resolve the state’s political crisis. “I
have no doubt that the decision will
be fair to all ... to the people and to the
political parties.”
Nizar, who sought the Sultan’s
consent after announcing the dissolu-
tion of the state assembly early in the
day, said the Sultan did not convey
any decision whether he would grant
consent, Bernama reports.
“He said he needed time to look
into the matter. I will abide and accept
whatever the decision,” he said.
He said the audience went well and
that he had briefed the Sultan on the
latest political development and also
conveyed his request for the consent.
He said that since the Sultan had not
made any decisions, “I will continue to
run the state’s administration together
with other PR assemblymen.”
“I will be working as usual,” he
said, adding that it was better to hold
a snap election to resolve the political
impasse once and for all.
Should the Sultan decide not to
grant consent, he said, the PR govern-
ment could still function as a caretaker
government.
» More stories on pages 2 and 4