Who is najib Altantuya to say Perak Asembly sitting cannot be held?

By SK English Team

Less than 24 hours after Perak Speaker V Sivakumar called an emergency sitting of the legislative assembly, Deputy Premier Najib Abdul Razak has begun giving the runaround in a bid to cling to power in a state where his name is no longer a welcomed word.

“It cannot be held because there has been a court action,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama. “Whatever it is, we have to wait for the decision of the court first. We have to first establish the status of the Perak government in terms of the constitution.”

The scandal-plagued Najib, who is also incoming Umno president, was referring to a court case filed against BN Menteri Besar Zambry Kadir by Pakatan Rakyat MB Nizar Jamaluddin.

Shot back Tian Chua, KeADILan information chief: “The ongoing legal suit doesn’t in any way affect the status or the powers of the Speaker. That suit disputes the legality of the MB.

“The purpose of the emergency sitting on Tuesday is to table a motion of confidence in Nizar as Menteri Besar and another to dissolve the state assembly. How can you mix up the suit with the sitting? The logic needs to be checked.”

More cheating had been expected

Najib’s reaction has been expected. Being the one who hatched the plot to replace the Pakatan government in Perak with his own Umno-BN line-up, a reversal of fortunes now would be embarrassing and untimely.

Already, the unpopular 55-year old is trying hard to consolidate power ahead of succeeding Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on April 1.

Civil society groups too have warned of dire consequences for the nation at both international level and at home if Najib and his coalition disregarded the rule of law and continued to abuse the federal apparatus in their bid to cling to office.

“This episode has washed up a lot of dirt and the debris that we are seeing is the result of democratic processes not being allowed to find expression at the ballot box and elsewhere,” said Ramon Navaratnam, president of Transparency International Malaysia.

“Increasingly, it has become apparent that the federal apparatus is being abused to further the position of the politicians of the day. But this is a very dangerous precedent and bears a very heavy cost – not least to the image of country at the international level but also at home.”