Zambry seeks QC

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six “suspended” state executive council members are seeking a second opinion from a Queen’s Counsel (QC) in London on the constitutional impasse in the state.

A source close to Barisan Nasional said that a senior lawyer was leaving for London tonight to meet the QC.

One of the assemblymen and other lawyers are also expected to go.

“The team comprises old and young lawyers and there is one who was involved in the two chief ministers’ case in Sabah in 1986.

“They want a second opinion on the purported suspension of the Perak MB and the six exco members as well as the suit filed (by Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin on Feb 13) that Dr Zambry is purportedly not the MB,” said the source.

The constitutional crisis in Perak began early this month after two PKR and one DAP assemblymen left their parties, leading Nizar to seek Sultan Azlan Shah’s consent to dissolve the state assembly.

On Feb 5, the Ruler declared that the Pakatan Rakyat government had lost its majority and appointed Barisan’s Dr Zambry as Mentri Besar.

Nizar and his team have refused to quit and the crisis is now a constitutional quagmire after State Legislative Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar on Feb 18 suspended Dr Zambry and his executive council from the assembly for 12 and 18 months, respectively.

Asked whether the lawyers had been instructed by Barisan, the source said they were acting on behalf of Dr Zambry and the six exco members and took instructions from them as the aggrieved party.

On whether they would apply for a QC to represent them in court, the source said:

“No. In addition to seeking a second opinion, they also want an opinion on the position in other Commonwealth jurisdictions, apart from the Sabah and Sarawak cases here.”

Asked whether the legal eagles were getting a QC’s opinion because several legal experts have described the legal impasse as “uncharted constitutional territory”, despite the Sabah and Sarawak case precedents, he replied:

“They think the Federal Consti-tution has been stretched to extreme limits. See how the Speaker unilaterally acted in convening the Rights and Privileges Committee when the Dewan was not in session and suspending the MB and his exco members.”