Swearing-In Of Perak MB Postponed

Swearing-In Of Perak MB Postponed PDF Print E-mail
Posted by Raja Petra
Thursday, 13 March 2008

(Bernama) -- The swearing-in of a PAS state assemblyman as the new Perak Menteri Besar which was scheduled to be held at Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar this afternoon had been postponed.

The postponement was announced by the Comptroller of the Royal Household at the Istana Iskandariah, Datuk Seri Raja Mansor Raja Razman.

Perak PAS secretary Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was initially scheduled to take his oath of office as the Menteri Besar before the Regent of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah at 4pm today.

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang had earlier instructed all the 18 DAP state assemblymen in Perak to stay away from the ceremony as he did not agree to the selection of the PAS representative as the Menteri Besar. Lim later apologised and retracted his statement.

Meanwhile, Istana Kinta said in a statement faxed to Bernama that the postponement was in view of the latest development that showed that the DAP, PKR and PAS had not reached a strong consensus in forming the coalition government.

The statement, signed by the Private Secretary to the Sultan of Perak, Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohamad Nor, said that Raja Dr Nazrin Shah had ordered that the swearing-in ceremony be postponed.

"In the light of recent developments, it appears to his Royal Highness The Regent of Perak Darul Ridzuan, that there are some uncertainties as to whether the three parties, DAP, PKR, PAS are able to work together to form a coalition, and form a stable government.

"As a consequence, His Royal Highness The Rengent of Perak Darul Ridzwan has directed that the appointment and swearing in ceremony of the Menteri Besar scheduled for this afternoon be postponed."

However, the statement did not indicate when the ceremony would be held.

Perak PKR chairman Zulkifly Ibrahim said he was shocked to hear news of the postponement.

Speaking to reporters at Istana Iskandariah, he said the rehearsal for the swearing-in ceremony was held this morning and attended by the Menteri Besar designate Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and Deputy Menteri Besar II designate Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi from the PKR.

"To my knowledge, all the three candidates for the post of Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar, Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Perak DAP chairman Ngeh Koo Ham had been invited to have an audience with Raja Dr Nazrin Shah at Istana Kinta at 2pm today," he said.

He said the DAP representative had informed the palace that the candidate for the post of Deputy Menteri Besar I, Ngeh Koo Ham and several of their elected representatives would attend the swearing-in ceremony this afternoon.

The postponement was believed to have been prompted by the objection by the central DAP yesterday against the decision by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah in selecting Mohammad Nizar as the Menteri Besar who would lead the coalition goverment to be formed by the DAP, PKR and PAS.

Initially, the Central DAP had approved only the DAP or the PKR candidate to head the coalition government while the Perak DAP acted in contrast when it agreed with PAS and PKR to nominate three names to be consented by the Sultan of Perak.

The crisis in the formation of the DAP, PKR and PAS coalition government cropped up because the DAP, which won 18 seats compared to seven won by the PKR and six by PAS, had been pressured by its supporters to ensure that its representative headed the state government to be formed.

The Perak State Constitution provided that only a Malay who is a Muslim can be appointed as the Menteri Besar but there is a section that empowers the Sultan of Perak to use his discretion to set aside the provision.

The Sultan of Perak yesterday gave his consent to the application by the three political parties to form a coalition government and selected Mohammad Nizar as the Menteri Besar after the three parties submitted the list of candidates to be selected.

In a joint statement, the Perak DAP chairman had also agreed unanimously with the Perak PKR and PAS to accept the decision by the Sultan of Perak to appoint anyone of the three candidates as the Menteri Besar.

Lim's attitude in objecting to the selection of the PAS candidate as the Menteri Besar was widely criticised by many bloggers who described the DAP advisor as being disrespectful of the Sultan of Perak.

In fact, many had expressed the view that Lim was outdated and driven by racialist sentiments.

Ngeh, 47, who is the State Assemblyman for Sitiawan, also won the Beruas parliamentary seat in the recent general election while Mohammad Nizar, 51, who is the Perak PAS Liaison secretary, won the Pasir Panjang state seat.

Jamaluddin, 52, who is the Perak PKR treasurer, won the Behrang state seat.