SMALL TALK

The Grounds of Judgment (GoJ) of the learned YA Dato' Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim consist of 78 pages and I have the greatest of respect for the learned Judge. In arriving at a decision and then writing the grounds of judgment, a Judge inevitably rely on the submissions by counsels from both sides or in the Perak case, all sides and of course, the Judge's own research and knowledge of the law. I have no intention of saying that the judge had erred in his decision as I am in no position to say so. I am not and will not be part of the legal team to argue for Nizar or Zambry. On hindsight, if I had argued the case for Zambry I would have argued it in the manner as follows: On the finding of fact by the Judge that the LA of Perak had been "instructed" to affirm the Affidavit and "thus whatever one does under such instruction may not be out of one own freewill" (page 21 of the GoJ); I would say that "instruction" "instruct" or "instructed...

When I finished writing my previous post early this morning, I forgot to mention that in the Stephen Kalong Ningkan case, when he was sacked by the Governor of Sarawak in the 60s, the Dewan was sitting a day before and bills were passed. What is the significant? Naturally, the question of Vote of No Confidence IN THE DEWAN would be relevant! Why was it not done the day when the Dewan was sitting, would be the question to be asked by the Governor. In the case of Perak, the Dewan was NOT sitting! Is the power or authority or even the words of the Constitutional Monarch not enough for the Court to consider? I am now wondering what will happen to the Constitutional Monarchy in the light of the Justice Dato' Abdul Aziz decision. Being part of the Dewan is not enough for the Constitutional Monarch to appoint a Menteri Besar upon His Royal Highness' judgment that the majority support had shifted the other way? The showing of hands in the Dewan physically is more supreme than the Const...

I have written 17 articles on the Perak matter. All my articles were written on the basis of how I see it as a lawyer. When the Pakatan had done it right, I had categorically written that they are right and vice versa when the Barisan side was right. The decision of Justice Dato' Abdul Aziz Rahim pronouncing that the legal MB is still Nizar even when Zambry had been sworned-in before the Sultan of Perak is really an interesting piece of judgment by a Judge of the High Court. Justice Dato' Aziz had based his decision taking the case of Stephen Kalong Ningkan as the precedent to be followed. He has not taken any step to distinguish Stephen Kalong Ningkan of Sarawak with the present Perak case. Stephen Kalong Ningkan was in the 60's with a Governor's decision as compared to the present Perak case where the Sultan's decision is in question. As a court of first instance, Justice Dato' Aziz might have thought that if he had distinguished the Ningkan case, he might be ...

I read SakmongkolAK47 and respect his take on the matter. He is entitled to his opinion and perception on the episode. I am entitled to mine too. Dewan Sitting on the very first day for every "penggal" must begin with the Royal Address by the Ruler. As the case in Perak, on the 7th May 2009, it was scheduled for the Official Opening by the Ruler and the first agenda must be the Royal Address i.e after usual protocol of the Cokmar being brought into the Dewan and the recital of prayers. As in all Official Opening, guests and ADUN alike must be allowed into the Dewan, seated in a pre-arranged protocol. The Speaker will sit at the seat normally allocated for the Secretary as his seat will be occupied by the Ruler and His Consort. There was legal battles prior to the date of the sitting and the Federal Court Order was interpreted in all sorts ways. Nevertheless, all have agreed that Zambry and the 6 Exco members can attend the Sitting, with a few saying that they may attend but s...

Sejak kebelakangan ini semuanya tentang Perak. Kemuncak kepada segalanya adalah persidangan di bawah pokok. Macam-macam manusia membuat analisis masing-masing. Masing-masing dengan hujjah sendiri. Selain daripada yang digambarkan oleh P. Ramlee dalam filem, persidangan di bawah pokok di Perak itu mungkin satu-satunya yang berlaku secara sebenar di dalam dunia. Walau bagaimana sekali pun dihujjahkan, perbuatan mengadakan Sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri di bawah Pokok adalah satu penghinaan yang paling dahsyat kepada Dewan yang mulia itu. Walaupun Dewan Undangan Negeri ditutup dikunci, sepatutnya carilah Dewan atau bangunan yang lebih sesuai untuk adakan Persidangan. Niat untuk menghina Dewan Undangan itu jelas apabila selepas "sidang" itu boleh pula diadakan sidang akhbar di "pejabat DAP"! Adakah sidang akhbar lebih mulia daripada sidang dewan? Ada pula seorang prof yang berkata sidang atas pokok pun sah. Kemudiannya mengatakan bahawa kenyataannya itu disalah tafsirkan...

Saya baca dalam NST dan Utusan laporan mengenai Sidang Tergempar DUN Perak yang hendak diadakan pada 3hb Mac 2009. Dari laporan Utusan Malaysia dilaporkan bahawa Sidang itu dipanggil kerana Speaker ada terima dua usul. " Usul pertama dikemukakan oleh ADUN Titi Serong, Khalil Idham Lim Abdullah dari Pas yang mahu dewan menyatakan sokongan kepada Datuk Seri Ir. Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin sebagai Menteri Besar. Usul kedua pula daripada ADUN Teja, Chang Lih Kang daripada Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) yang mahu DUN dibubarkan supaya pilihan raya negeri dapat diadakan. " Manakala NST pula melaporkan " Counsel Chan Kok Keong, an adviser to Sivakumar, said the last assembly was neither prolonged nor dissolved, thus allowing the speaker to call for the meeting to be reconvened to continue with the business of the last sitting. " The Star pula melaporkan " To a question, he said convening such a sitting did not require the consent of the Sultan of Perak. His lawyer Chan ...

Tindakan Sivakumar menggantung MB & Exco Perak dari menghadiri DUN adalah salah sama sekali. Salah dari awal...tak perlulah cari QC dari London untuk buat pandangan undang-undang.  Saya ingin tegaskan bahawa tugas Speaker adalah sama seperti seorang hakim di mahkamah. Mesti tidak bias, fair dan tidak berpihak (impartial). Namun yang paling penting difahami adalah sama seperti Hakim, Speaker hanya boleh bertindak apabila ada SIDANG. Di Mahkamah, Hakim membuat segala tugas semasa ada SIDANG atau "when the Court is in session" atau "when the Court is sitting". Ini bermakna, dalam menjalankan tugasnya Hakim perlu ada "court sitting". Contohnya, apabila Hakim hendak umumkan keputusan kes, Hakim mesti panggil sidang mahkamah. Hakim tidak boleh buat keputusan atau bacakan keputusan kes dihadapan akhbar atau media sahaja. Sidang mahkamah itu pula mesti dihadiri oleh semua pihak yang terlibat dalam kes itu. Kalau ada pihak yang tidak dapat hadir mahkamah boleh ...

Read here . The position in the British Parliament should be no different from what we practice in Malaysia. "Committee for Privileges   The Committee is chaired by the Chairman of Committees  and is made up of fifteen peers, including four Lords of Appeal." The Committee hears complaints of prima facie breach of privilege, takes evidence, and reports its recommendations to the Lords, where they are debated before the House decides whether or not to accept them. " What Sivakumar did was legally wrong by not referring the Committee's recommendation back to the State Assembly to be debated and thereafter a vote to be taken. The provisions of the Standing Orders can be read in my earlier posting here

Under The Standing Orders of the State Legislative Assembly of Pahang 1965, the Committee of Privileges is formed and formulated according to S/O 70 which read as follows:- 70. (1) There shall be a Committee to be known as the Committee of Privileges to consist of Mr Speaker as Chairman and six (6) members to be appointed by the Assembly as soon as may be after the beginning of each session. There shall be referred to this Committee any matter which appears to affect the powers and privileges of the Assembly . It shall be the duty of the Committee to consider any such matters to them referred, and to report on them to the Assembly. (2) Whenever the Assembly is not sitting a member may bring an alleged breach of privilege to the notice of Mr Speaker who may, if he is satisfied that a prima facie breach of privilege has been committed, refer such matter to the Committee, which shall report thereon to the Assembly. (3) The Committee shall heve the power to send for pers...

I was asked by a Sopranos in the comment section of my earlier posting about the position of the Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker now that the Government have changed hand. Is he still the Speaker or otherwise. Similarly is the Deputy Speaker, now that she has left DAP. This is a very interesting point. It have to be made clear that Speakers need not be an ADUN of the State Legislative Assembly or an MP in the case of Parliament. Nevertheless, Deputy Speakers (Parliament allows for 2) must be members of the Assembly or Parliament as the case maybe. If the Speaker is not a member, he shall be virtue of his post be part of the Assembly and shall also be called a YB and will enjoy all the perks as provided for by the Government including the Perdana Executive in the case of Pahang and naturally the Camry as in the case of Perak and Selangor. Pahang have decided not to have a Deputy Speaker yet for this term. Last term Pahang had one and enjoyed the perks provided for including a P...

Dato ' Dr. Zambri , the new MB for Perak had announced the appointment of 4 Penasihat MB with the status & remuneration equivalent to an Exco member. Legally can it be done? I am looking at it in the lights of the Laws of the Constitution of the State of Pahang or in Bahasa Melayu Undang - undang Tubuh Kerajaan Negeri Pahang (hereinafter referred to as the State Constitution) Under the State Constitution, the appointment of the Exco members shall be made by the the Ruler on the advice of the Menteri Besar and it shall not be more than 10 and not less than 4. Exco members must be from among the members of the Legislative Assembly. In short, to form a government, the Ruler must :- Appoint a Menteri Besar Appoint Exco members from among the ADUNs Collectively the MB & the Excos is known as the Executive Council. Nevertheless, "the Executive authority of the State shall be vested in the Ruler but Executive functions may by law be conferred on other person...

Under the law the remedy for repossession is by way of a Writ. Way back in 1983 I was the sheriff (chief to the bailiff) of the High Court Kuala Lumpur and I was involved in the enforcement of an order for Possession on the land belonging to a company in Batu Caves which have been occupied by about 300 squatters. The squatters just refused to abide by the Court Order and the assistance of the Police, Ambulance and Bomba had to be used. The squatters came out with parangs, motorcycle chains and cangkul to defend their houses from been demolished. Nevertheless by way of persuasion, we managed to get the squatters to move out peacefully. As a result of which, the place have now become Taman Seri Gombak. In the same year , I was also involved in the eviction of a "guru silat" house in Kampong Kerinchi. The land belonged to Belia 4B. Upon knowing that the High Court Kuala Lumpur had issue an Order for Possession, the guru silat had gathered all his anak murid at his house. When we...

Tahniah dan Selamat Menjalankan Tugas!

ASSALAMUALAIKUM YB DATO' SERI, Dengan segala kerendahan hati saya menulis surat ini sebagai seorang Melayu dan adalah peribadi tanpa perlu mengambil kira apa jawatan saya. Saya juga memohon bersikap kurang ajar kepada YB Dato' Seri. Kurang ajar saya ini adalah jawapan dan balasan kepada sikap dan perbuatan YB Dato' Seri yang derhaka kepada KDYMM Paduka Sultan Perak. Untuk makluman YB Dato' Seri, dulu, yakni sebelum YB Dato' Seri derhaka kepada Raja, saya ada juga perasaan mengagumi YB Dato' Seri. Saya kagum kerana dengan takdir Allah SWT, YB Dato' Seri telah dengan izinNya diangkat martabat untuk menjawat jawatan YAB Menteri Besar Perak. Hanya Allah yang berkuasa menentukan atau mengangkat martabat seseorang itu. Sesungguhnya Allah telah memilih YB Dato' Seri kerana Allah sahaja yang tahu akan kebolehan YB Dato' Seri. Saya juga selalu mendengar kata-kata dan ungkapan baik yang diluahkan oleh YAB Dato' Sri Hj Adnan Yaakob, Menteri Besar Pahang, te...

Lanjutan dari krisis MB Perak ada pihak yang bercadang menyaman KDYMM Sultan Perak. Kononnya keputusan Baginda adalah salah dan tidak mengikut Perlembagaan. Krisis di Perak boleh diringkaskan secara berikut:- Nizar (MB dulu) mengadap KDYMM Sultan untuk minta izin bubarkan Dewan Undangan Negeri kerana 3 + 1 ADUNnya telah berpaling ke BN. Ini bermakna Nizar telah secara sendirinya mengakui bahawa beliau dan kerajaannya telah hilang atau kurang majority yang diperlukan. Kalau Nizar masih mengatakan kerajaannya masih ada majority atau bercadang untuk terus memerintah secara Minority Government, kenapa perlu mengadap Sultan untuk bubarkan Dewan? KDYMM Sultan telah tidak bersetuju dengan Pembubaran tetapi sebaliknya meminta Nizar menyerahkan surat letak jawatan dan jika gagal berbuat demikian, jawatan MB itu kosong dengan sendirinya. KDYMM Sultan masih mahu menjaga maruah Nizar dengan berbuat demikian. Adalah sangat malang bagi Nizar jika KDYMM Sultan memberikan Nizar surat berhenti kerja! K...

Lanjutan dari krisis kerajaan Perak, terbaharu adalah Nizar (ex MB) ingkar Titah Sultan untuk letak jawatan. Saya tidak berkesempatan untuk melihat Undang-undang Tubuh Kerajaan Perak tetapi saya percaya peruntukannya adalah sama dengan Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri Pahang. Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri Pahang (Laws of the Constitution of Pahang) memperuntukan antara lain :- The executive authority of the State shall be vested in the Ruler but executive functions may by law be conferred on other persons or authorities. All executive authority of the State shall be expressed to be taken in the name of the Ruler. ...no person shall be appointed to be Menteri Besar unless he is of the Malay race and professes the Muslim Religion. The Ruler shall appoint an Executice Council... by...(a) "the Ruler shall first appoint as Menteri Besar to preside over the Executive Council a member of the Legislative Assembly who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the member...

Ampun Tuanku beribu-ribu ampun, sembah patik mohon diampun. Patik, pacal kelahiran Negeri Pahang Darul Makmur memohon merafak sembah atas limpah perkenan Kebawah Duli Tuanku bagi patik menyembah rayuan terhadap apa yang kini berlaku di Negeri Perak Darul Ridzuan. Negeri dibawah pemerintahan berdaulat Kebawah Duli Tuanku. Ampun Tuanku, Adalah dalam pandangan patik, pacal yang hina ini, krisis yang melanda sistem pentadbiran Negeri Perak tidak boleh dibiarkan berlarutan. Adalah dilaporkan melalui media cetak serta elektronik bahawasanya Kerajaan Perak dibawah tadbir YAB Menteri Besar sekarang telah kehilangan majoriti di Dewan Undangan Negeri dan sebaliknya Barisan Nasional pula yang mempunyai majoriti nyata. Ampun Tuanku, Justeru itu, patik merayu diatas limpah perkenan Kebawah Duli Tuanku, agar Kebawah Duli Tuanku memperkenankan Barisan Nasional mengambil alih Kerajaan Negeri Perak. Ampun Tuanku, Patik juga ingin menyembahkan bahawa ianya adalah dibawah kuasa mutlak Kebawah Duli Tuanku...

Can the Menteri Besar declare the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly? Under the Constitution of the State, the power or authority to dissolve the Assembly lies with the Sultan. The Menteri Besar merely request for the dissolution. The Sultan has the absolute prerogative whether to agree or not to agree. Can a member of the Assembly change his/her political affiliation or party? There is no law to prohibit any change of political party or political affiliation. The Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of association. Who, the voters actually voted for during the election? Is it the party or the candidate? Voters actually voted for the individual. The political party he/she represents during the election is merely an association to identify the political affiliation of the candidate. That is why an Independent candidate can also stand for the election! Why then the need for political parties? Political parties are needed to show the affiliation of the candidate which i...