PERAK: a STATE of CRISIS Edited by Audrey Quay
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PERAK: A STATE OF CRISIS Edited by Audrey Quay PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 1 1/6/11 12:36 PM PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 2 1/6/11 12:36 PM From Malaysia’s leading blawg www.LoyarBurok.com PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 3 1/6/11 12:36 PM Copyright © Liberal Banter Sdn Bhd, 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means be it electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, application for which should be addressed to the publisher of this book. LoyarBurok and the LordBobo device are trademarks of Liberal Banter Sdn Bhd. Perak: A State Of Crisis First Edition (2010) Second Impression (2011) ISBN: 978-967-0102-00-9 Published in Malaysia in 2011 by LoyarBurok Publications (LoyarBaca) A division of: Liberal Banter Sdn Bhd (723502-K) 32 Jalan PJU 7/16 Mutiara Damansara 47800 Petaling Jaya w: www.LoyarBurok.com e: [email protected] ~ Printed and bound in Malaysia by Academe Art & Printing Services Sdn Bhd 7 Jalan Rajawali 1A Bandar Puchong Jaya 47100 Puchong ~ Design and layout by Bright Lights At Midnight www.blam.com.my Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Perak: A State Of Crisis - Rants, reviews and reflections on the overthrow of democracy and the rule of law in Malaysia / edited by Audrey Quay ISBN 978-967-0102-00-9 1. Democracy--Perak. 2. Constitutional Law--Perak. 3. Perak--Politics and Government. I. Quay, Audrey. 320.9595114 Nothing in this book is legal advice. It cannot be relied upon as such for any ac- tions that you take and we bear no responsibility to you whatsoever (that means nada, zip, zilch) for any loss you suffer because you rely on anything at all in this book. Look at the name “LoyarBurok” for heaven’s sake. PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 4 1/6/11 12:36 PM This book is dedicated to the voters of Perak Darul Ridzuan - and to all the ordinary folk of Malaysia, wherever we find ourselves. Bangkitlah. PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 5 1/6/11 12:36 PM i Editor’s Preface & Introduction vii Foreword By Wan Saiful ix About The Contributors xiii Acknowledgments xv Glossary xvii Dramatis Personae xix Perak Crisis Timeline xxxi Digest - Perak Crisis Cases 1 One The Real Question On Perak By Amer Hamzah Arshad 7 February 2009 7 Two Bias, Public Perception And Recusal: Judicial Consistency At Last? By Edmund Bon Tai Soon 2 March 2009 11 Three Perak Speaker Can Appoint Private Lawyers By Shanmuga K 3 March 2009 17 Four The Tree Injunction – My Thoughts By Art Harun 6 March 2009 23 Five Bangkitlah, Anak-Anak Malaysia By Art Harun 20 April 2009 PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 6 1/6/11 12:36 PM Six 25 The Wolf And The Silence Of The Lamb By Art Harun 4 May 2009 Seven 31 The Perak ‘May’hem – A Simplistic View By Art Harun 8 May 2009 NIZAR TRIUMPHS IN HIGH COURT 11 May 2009 Eight 39 Tell Us Why, Please? By Edmund Bon Tai Soon 14 May 2009 COURT OF APPEAL DECIDES ZAMBRY IS MB 22 May 2009 Nine 45 The Perak Crisis – My Rebuttal To Lord Lester’s Opinion By Art Harun 27 May 2009 Ten 61 Perak Constitutional Crisis: Wake Up And Smell The Carcass By Amer Hamzah Arshad 3 June 2009 Eleven 67 Crises Of Confidence And Perak’s Constitutional Impasse By Andrew Harding 7 June 2009 PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 7 1/6/11 12:36 PM 75 Twelve “The Sultan Has No Explicit Power To Dismiss An MB Under The Perak Constitution”, The Sultan’s Constitutional Powers: A Comment By Kevin YL Tan 26 June 2009 85 Thirteen Zambry’s Illegal EXCO By Cheang Lek Choy 3 July 2009 91 Fourteen (a) Part 1: Gobbledegook And Regurgitation Galore In The Two Written Judgments Of The Court of Appeal In Zambry v Nizar By NH Chan 7 July 2009 103 Fourteen (b) Part 2: Gobbledegook And Regurgitation In The Written Judgments Of The Court Of Appeal In Zambry v Nizar: Postscript – Zainun Ali JCA’s Judgment By NH Chan 10 July 2009 113 Fifteen The Loss Of Confidence: Who Decides? By Kevin YL Tan 10 July 2009 PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 8 1/6/11 12:36 PM Sixteen 117 The Perak Crisis: Keep Focused On The Real Issues By Kevin YL Tan 3 November 2009 FEDERAL COURT DISMISSES NIZAR’S APPEAL 9 FEBRUARY 2010 Seventeen 127 The Monarch Has No Power To Sack Any Member of The Cabinet EXCO By NH Chan 22 March 2010 ~ THREE CONCLUDING REMARKS Eighteen 139 The Final Chapter By Kevin YL Tan Nineteen 145 A Look Back By Shad Saleem Faruqi Twenty 165 An Epilogue By Andrew Harding PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 9 1/6/11 12:36 PM PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 10 1/6/11 12:36 PM Editor’s Preface & Introduction This is a book about Malaysia. One Malaysia, East and West. One nation for all Malaysians. Here is an excerpt of a conversation overheard when I first undertook the task of producing this work: “Remember the Sarawak crisis with Stephen Kalong Ningkan? And how about what happened with Sabah in ‘85?” Pertinent questions for those interested in how modern Malaysia has developed since the full independence of our composite peoples, and its newly unified states. But when put to a majority of us born and bred here today, even in our age of widespread media dissemination, “Sarawak 1966” and “Sabah 1985” bear little meaning. Yet things might have been rather different if one had been more mindful of those incidents and their ensuing implications. Perhaps, however, there was too much smoke, too many mirrors waved in our faces then, and we were still developing as a young nation – growing up, growing wiser. This book is not however, a critique on what has passed. It is a conscious reference point for where we are now, as a nation desiring true integration. For unity must not just be proclaimed, it must in reality be achieved. It is clear that before this, a serious grasp of the circumstances with reference to East Malaysian politics was sorely lacking, especially in the Western Peninsula. These quite pivotal events certainly failed to make enough headway in our history books (or indeed any non-specialist archives of note) to have the kind of coinage attached to especially notorious episodes, those that at the drop of a couched phrase, the man- on-the-street recalls and speaks about with some sensible measure of awareness. Perhaps even enthusiastic opinion. And so, left credulous, history repeats itself and we scarcely experience a sense of déjà vu. But we yearn for more in this new era. And indeed, there are less limitations existing today than ever before experienced by previous generations. Leadership is less characterised by self-serving tussles for short-term power gains. Conceptually at least, we have matured (with i PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 1 1/6/11 12:36 PM far to go) in our understanding of what it means to live and grow in a heterogeneous society. Better ideas of government and governance have captured the imaginations and ignited the passions of a whole crop of purportedly “ordinary” Malaysians. They have proved extraordinary through making large personal sacrifices – some by volunteering tirelessly to facilitate voter registrations amongst those living on the fringes, whilst others strive to educate citizens on their rights and responsibilities. A good number serve as election agents to support a clean democratic process. Still others, standing as candidates, have and will become representatives of their constituencies. Many hold our political leaders accountable in both our respective and collective communities, through a diverse range of expressions. Activists in a time where change is not just possible, it is feasible – we have in a sense, come of age. Standing at the close of the first decade of the 21st century, it is presently our time. And in our time, the unresolved constitutional Rubicon is the Perak Crisis. It is, however, up to the citizens of Malaysia to decide what these watershed events mean for us, as we progress further into our shared future. Just like it was not just Sabah, not just Sarawak, it is not just Perak. It is Malaysia. When citizens were wounded in Ipoh as they turned out on 7 May 2009 to help keep watch over the fate of their State Government, the future of our entire union of states was also threatened. To date, we have seen admirable, spirited responses, including the ones we have documented here. Responses towards how an unchecked Federal Government, a legally trained and constrained State monarch, and certain elements in our Judiciary devastated the faith of Malaysians in due process. We have heard outraged cries of protest, made some remonstrations. But 25 years, or a decade on from now, who will remember? Who will be reading and writing and talking about it? Like me, many citizens today were not around to have taken notice of previous political machinations; for example, Stephen Kalong Ningkan’s removal, regardless of how it would impact our nation, our Malaysia in the years to come. But that is also the point. Without providing the benefit of visible documentation – preferably contemporaneous – we who are living now would be remiss in our responsibility to pass on knowledge to future anak bangsa Malaysia. ii PERAK CRISIS_241210.indb 2 1/6/11 12:36 PM This book is an attempt to capture the Perak Crisis in print, which we at LoyarBurok hope will serve as a focus point for how the rakyat choose to go forward together.