Prescene 15 - Release of affidavit reaffirmed Nizar’s ineligibility as Menteri Besar, ever

On 3/3/09, I wrote in this blog that Nizar will never again be the MB of Perak.

I based my opinion then on the arrogant manner in which Nizar has conducted himself during his tenure as the MB of Perak, and later, upon being dismissed by the Sultan.

Nizar was a puppet MB for DAP, although he has several times denied that. Nizar followed DAP’s Ngeh and Nga directions in making decisions during his tenure as Perak MB. The land conversion into very long term lease (999 years) to Chinese settlers, by-passing the National Land Committee, irked even the Sultan of Perak.

Upon being dismissed as the MB by Sultan Perak, Nizar proudly continued to be used by DAP to be the front person to go against the decision of the Sultan. Even Brader Anwar Bin Ibrahim preferred not to be really in the limelight in confronting the decision by the Sultan.

To the non-Malays, Nizar has become the icon in the fight against the rule of the monarchs. Nizar played along with the iconic tag.

Nizar won the Bukit Gantang Parliamentary seat due to the overwhelming support from the non-Malay voters in the constituency. The non-Malay support was crucial to Nizar as the majority of Malay voters disagreed with Nizar’s arrogant ways in dealing with the Sultan.

Now, in an affidavit which was filed in the High Court on 20/4/09 as part of the judicial review application challenging Datuk Seri Zambry Kadir appointment as the Mentri Besar of Perak, Nizar disclosed some parts of the intimate discussions between Sultan Azlan and him on 4/2/09 and 5/2/09.

Based on the article in The Malaysian Insider, these were some of the happenings during the discussions:-

Nizar recalled that on Feb 4 he informed the Sultan that three Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers had resigned.
They could not be contacted and seemed to have gone missing.
He then asked the Sultan to dissolve the assembly because it was appropriate to have fresh elections given the deadlock situation in the House with Pakatan Rakyat and BN having equal number of seats.
The Sultan said he would study the matter further and told Nizar that Allah is with those who are patient.
At no point during the audience, did the issue of Nizar losing the confidence of majority of the assembly crop up.
On Feb 5, the Sultan informed Nizar that he was rejecting the request to dissolve the assembly.
Hearing this, Nizar interjected and spoke for 15 minutes, urging the Ruler to allow the people of Perak to exercise their rights and elect their own government.
”When the assembly is dissolved, the rakyat will view the Sultan as someone who is fair and not partisan. They will in turn respect the institution for returning to them their rights to elect the government.
This is also consistent with the constitutional monarchy system and democratic principle here.
”In contrast, if the people were denied their rights, the people may lose respect for the institution and the Sultan…I pointed out that history showed that in countries such as Egypt and Iran the institution of the monarchy was diminished or completely wiped out when decisions not in the interest of people were made.''
To support his case, Nizar also read out a passage from the book "Constitutional Monrachy: Rule of Law and Good Governance .
It said: "Under normal circumstances, it is taken for granted that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong would not withhold his consent to a request for dissolution of Parliament. His role is purely formal.
The book was given to Nizar by Sultan Azlan Shah when he was installed as the MB last year.
As soon as Nizar finished his 15 minute plea, the Sultan looked up at him and declared that he would not dissolve the assembly and urged Nizar to resign.

What Nizar said in the affidavit were indeed half-truths. It is indeed an act of being arrogant and durhaka in front of the Sultan.

The truth was that after Sultan Azlan met with Nizar on 4/3/09, the Sultan met with Najib and Zahid. The Sultan were then told of the defections of the three assemblypersons to become independents but had pledged allegiance to Barisan Nasional. The Sultan also met with the three to reconfirm that BN had indeed obtained majority control of the Perak State Assembly. Sultan Azlan then decided to use his prerogative, under the Perak State Constitution, to ask Nizar to step down as MB. The Sultan wanted Zambry, who, based on the Sultan’s informed decision, would have majority support to become the MB. It was also the Sultan’s prerogative not to accede with Nizar’s request to dissolve the State Assembly.

Nizar’s affidavit indicated that he had crossed the line of secrecy oath between the then MB and the Sultan. Nizar must have been blinded by the iconic tag and followed the ill advise given by the DAP lawyers. They may have thought that the affidavit may force Sultan Azlan to issue an affidavit-in-reply or to testify in court.

I would thus reaffirm my belief that Nizar will never again be the Menteri Besar of Perak, even if Pakatan Rakyat managed to gain majority control in the Perak State Assembly. Sultan Azlan will never give consent to Nizar’s reappointment as Perak MB.

I would also predict that Nizar would never be the MB for any other state in the Malay Sultanate, ever. No Sultan will believe that Nizar will be a loyal servant to his state.

Nizar has shot himself on the foot by releasing the affidavit.