The pain was acute and deep when the verdict came, despite it being widely anticipated. The complete silence that greeted the Court of Appeal decision in favour of Zambry Kadir – in contrast to the uncontrollable jubilation that hailed the high court declaration of Nizar Jamaluddin as the lawful Menteri Besar only 10 days ago - spoke for itself. I believe the disappointment and suppressed fury prevailing in the court room this time was reflective of the feelings invoked across the nation when Justice Raus Shariff delivered the 5-minute oral judgment that marked a new low in our judiciary on May 22.
An intriguing question arises as Court of appeal judge Ramli Ali ordered (on May 12) a stay of execution on High Court’s declaratory judgment that Nizar Jamaluddin – not Zambry Kadir - is the lawful Menteri Besar of Perak.
In his judgment the day before (May 11), high court judge Aziz Rahim declares that Nizar has never ceased to be the Menteri Besar while Zambry Kadir has never been one.
So what does judge Ramli mean when he orders a stay of execution? Does he not mean to ask Nizar to cease to be Menteri Besar from now onwards until the case is finally settled at the higher courts? But that would mean stripping a status that Nizar has always enjoyed. Would that be fair to Nizar, when the high court judgment has not been overturned by a higher court?
The litigation ahead is a long and tortuous road and may take years to reach its final conclusion at the highest court. Is it not a gross injustice to Nizar that he – a declared lawful Menteri Besar – has to stand aside so that Zambry – a declared pretender – can occupy the Menteri Besar’s seat all these years?
The Federal Court appeared to have erred when it ruled on April 9 that the Election Commission (EC) could overrule the Speaker’s acceptance of resignations in the Perak State Assembly.
The Court’s decision was in response to an urgent application by three assemblymen who wanted a declaration whether it was the EC or the Speaker who had the final say over their disputed resignations. The Speaker had earlier accepted their resignations based on their pre-signed letters to this effect, but they – Jamaluddin Radzi, Osman Jailu and Hee Yit Foong – claimed that their resignations were invalid.
The Barisan Nasional (BN) government has probably scored another first in the world. It has sent its police force to enter a state legislative assembly hall to physically haul the sitting speaker out of the assembly hall and escort another speaker of its choice to take over the empty seat during a melee. Through this act, BN claimed that it has successfully ousted the Pakatan Rakyat speaker S. Sivakumar.
Unusual occurrences on the day before Najib Razak’s swearing-in as prime minister have raised questions on the royal consent to his appointment as the sixth PM of Malaysia.
From the time Najib left the palace grounds at 1215 hrs on April 2, after an audience with the King, the nation was kept in the dark for seven hours as to whether the King had given his consent to Najib’s premiership. It was not until 1938 hrs that the first newsbreak came from Bernama stating that Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Sidek Hassan announced that the Yang DiPertuan Agong had given his consent to Najib’s appointment and that Najib would be sworn-in at 1000 hrs the next day – which was the time previously circulated by the government. Was it not most extra-ordinary that the nation was kept in suspense for so many hours when the ceremony was only hours away? What was the reason for this long delay in announcement? Was there any problem with obtaining the royal consent?
24 May 2009 
The Barisan Nasional (BN) government has probably scored another first in the world. It has sent its police force to enter a state legislative assembly hall to physically haul the sitting speaker out of the assembly hall and escort another speaker of its choice to take over the empty seat during a melee. Through this act, BN claimed that it has successfully ousted the Pakatan Rakyat speaker S. Sivakumar. 
Unusual occurrences on the day before Najib Razak’s swearing-in as prime minister have raised questions on the royal consent to his appointment as the sixth PM of Malaysia. 