April 16, 2009 12:17 PM

Zambry Can Attend State Sitting, Suspension Order Lifted

PUTRAJAYA, April 16 (Bernama) -- After being suspended for almost two months, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six state executive councillors can now attend the state assembly sittings after the Federal Court on Thursday lifted the suspension order against them.

In a unanimous decision, the five-member panel led by Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff ruled that the suspension order of 18 months for Zambry and 12 months for the councillors made by state speaker V. Sivakumar was ultra vires the Perak state constitution and therefore, null and void.

Justice Alauddin also said that under Article 63 of the Perak Constitution, the court had the power to dispose of an originating summons filed by Zambry and the six councillors at the Ipoh High Court on March 2 with no order as to costs.

Alauddin, who sat with Chief Judge of Malaya Datuk Arifin Zakaria and Datuk Nik Hashim Nik Ab Rahman, Datuk S. Augustine Paul and Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, had adjourned the hearing for 45 minutes before coming to the decision.

Zambry and the six -- Zainol Fadzi Paharuddin, Datuk Ramly Zahari, Hamidah Osman, Datuk Saarani Mohamad, Mohd Zahir Abdul Khalid and Dr Mah Hang Soon -- brought the case to the Federal Court under Article 44 of the Perak state constitution to seek a declaration that the suspension meted out on them by Sivakumar was null and void.

They initially filed an originating summons at the Ipoh High Court, seeking a declaratation that their suspension was null and void.

Outside the court, Zambry's counsel, Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, described the decision as a landmark decision.

He said the speaker should not have issued the suspension order on Zambry as he was elected as a menteri besar by a proclamation of the Sultan Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah.

He said that with the decision, the two suits at the Ipoh Court against Sivakumar on the Perak Constitution had been disposed of -- namely today's case and the suit by the three Perak state assemblymen, who quit their parties to become independent assemblymen, which was disposed of by the Federal Court last Thursday.

Meanwhile, Zambry's other counsel, Datuk Hafarizam Harun, said today's decision meant that Zambry and the six state executive councillors could now attend the assembly sitting which was scheduled for May 9 and 10.

When asked by the media whether the decision affected Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin's suit against Zambry, which was fixed for hearing on May 5,at Kuala Lumpur High Court, he said: "With this decision, I think Mohd Nizar should withdraw his suit against Zambry".

He added that the Federal Court decision meant that Zambry was the rightful MB.

Meanwhile, Sivakumar's counsel, Sulaiman Abdullah, said that the speaker had no intention to breach the law and his suspension order against Zambry and the six was right.

When asked what would happened in the next assembly sitting, Sulaiman said: "We just wait and see what will happen because the speaker is still in the sitting".

He also said that in this case nobody had won or lost because during the assembly sitting, the speaker still had the power to conduct the proceedings.

Sulaiman added that he would take instruction from Sivakumar on whether to file for a review of the decision.

-- BERNAMA

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