Continuing Updates Throughout the Day ( Tuesday, March 3) on the Deepening Perak Constitutional Crisis

Please note: updating on today's development in Perak terminated at 3 pm. Further developments will be reported in newer posts. Thank you

• (Click here) Live from IPOH - Go to delCapo Blog for minute by minute updates on today (3 March) developments on the constitutional crisis
• 
  (Click here) LIVE IN PERAK -GO TO ANIL NETTO'S BLOG for Hour by Hour Account on developments in Perak today (3 March )

Quote:

"...Amidst the flurry of activity with the Executive now getting involved in the affairs of the Legislature, the one man who can put a stop to all this madness is keeping mum.

Whither the Sultan ?...."
- Captain Yusof Ahmad

MARCH 3, 2009: IPOH PERAK

10.57am:
Nizar urged the people to stay calm and follow the law. He urged them not to emulate the troublemakers who had tried to stop him and the other representatives from entering the state secretariat earlier today.

10.53am:
State DAP Chief Ngeh Koo Ham also said that Speaker Sivakumar will initiate contempt proceedings against the police and the state secretary.

10.50am:
Ngeh said: "It is a very sad day. We have descended into a police state."

10.49am:
Nizar says that he will try to get an audience with the Sultan of Perak to inform him the decision of the House. He insisted that the sitting was held in accordance with the rules and regulations.

10.46am:
Nizar at the press conference: "We held sitting under a tree based on the doctrine of necessity because we were prevented from entering the assembly but we had to fulfil our duties based on the notice issued by the speaker".
(Updates from Malaysiakini and Malaysian Insider)

PERAK CREATES HISTORY:
STATE ASSEMBLY FORCED TO CONVENE UNDER THE SHADE OF THE RAIN-TREE

10.35am
The Perak State Assembly, convened under the shade of a rain tree, has been adjourned. Sivakumar will now have to present the motions to the Sultan of Perak for further action.

10.28am
The second motion to dissolve the state assembly was also mooted, debated and passed unanimously. The emergency sitting under the tree also passed a third motion - to adopt the decision of the rights and privileges committee headed by Sivakumar to suspend Zambry and his six exco members.

10.23am
The first motion was passed unanimously. Every present Pakatan representative shouted 'setuju' (agree) when a vote was taken on the motion.

10.20am
The first motion to express confidence on Nizar as the menteri besar is being tabled now.

10.18am:
Sivakumar is in his full speaker's robe to chair the meeting. It is held in a very formal manner. He told the viewing crowd not to clap or cheer and to respect the meeting.

10.15am:
The meeting starts with a prayer session, It is held under a tree, without any chairs for the state representatives and the speaker to sit

10.13 am
Perak V Sivakumar has put on his robes by the roadside near the state secretriat and appears to be preparing to convene emergency State Assembly right there under the shade of a rain tree. Speaker Sivakumar has decided to hold the emergency meeting right there. All Pakatan representatives are present. Some 300 people are watching this historic proceeding.

10 am:
Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen have decided to leave the scene to avert violence. They will hold a press conference shortly where they are likely to announce new venue for assembly sitting.

9.52am:
Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen are now standing toe-to-toe with riot police at the entrance, while supporters have linked hands behind the lawmakers. At the side two trucks with water cannons are poised for action .

At 9.45 am
Datuk Seri Nizar and Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblymen were DENIED ENTRY by Police into the State Legislature to attend the State Assembly meeting called by the House Speaker. Nizar and Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen are now being stopped by police from entering the building. Police apparently allow Speaker V. Sivakumar apparently to enter.

8.45am
Lawyers representing Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat are gathering at the Ipoh High Court where a series of lawsuits have been filed against the Perak Speaker.
(from Malaysia Insider updates)

(Photos courtesy of Blogger delCapo )

PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY IN PERAK TO BE FULLY TESTED TODAY

The FULL FORCE of the WILL of the Perak People through their Elected Representatives AGAINST the UMNO-Machinery and the Dictates of Perak's Constitutional Monarch will be played out today ( 3rd March 2009).

Separation of Powers in a Democracy (Legislature, Executive and Judiciary) Brought to a Test by UMNO/Barisan Nasional.

The battle of Perak is all about POLITICS. The LAW and the CONSTITUTION count for little. Events seem to suggest that Ends justify the Means and Might is Right.

The evidence from Perak suggests that Barisan Nasional wants to cling on to power by ANY and ALL MEANS.

UMNO adopting Zimbabwe's Mugabe-style of retaining power at ALL Costs

Will the public/voters forget the Day the Perak Constitution was pushed aside?

1. March 2 : 10.44pm
   State Assembly Speaker V Sivakumar tonight suspended the assembly's secretary Abdullah Antong Sabri with immediate effect. Sivakumar said, "The suspension was meted out due to Abdullah's failure to carry out his duties professionally.Further to Abdullah's suspension, I have appointed Mohd Misbahul Munir Masduki as the assembly's secretary." Mohd Misbahul is the political secretary to ousted Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.Sivakumar also told reporters that the planned emergency assembly sitting will proceed tomorrow .Read here for more
   
   
2. March 2: 6 pm
   Police roadblocks have been erected along the main road leading to the state secretariat in Ipoh. Four Federal Reserve Unit trucks are on standby behind the secretariat. The Perak police chief has issued a warning to the public not to gather at the state secretariat tomorrow. State police chief Zulkifli Ahmad says that, according to the assembly secretary, the emergency sitting of the assembly tomorrow is not valid. Read here for more
   
   
3. March 2 : 8pm
   Raja Petra Kamarudin sends out OPEN Letter to Datuk Seri Nizar to press on with the sitting of the State Assembly on 3rd March. Read here for more
   
   
4. March 2: 4.15 pm
   Zambry's lawyers, led by Mohd Hafarizam Harun arrived at Ipoh High Court registry to seek a court declaration to overturn Sivakumar's decision to suspend Zambry and his six exco members. The lawyers were applying for a certificate of urgency and the hearing is now scheduled to be heard at 9am on Tuesday. Read here for more
   
   
5. March 1: 6 pm
   The Perak assembly secretary Abdullah Antong Sabri today said that the call by the state speaker for an emergency sitting next Tuesday was illegal because the emergency sitting has not received the consent from Sultan of Perak in accordance with the standing orders of the assembly and the state constitution.V Sivakumar's lawyer Chan Kok Keong insisted that the emergency sitting - called to table two motions on the takeover of the state government - was lawful.Chan said Sivakumar had acted within the provisions of the state constitution and standing orders when he called for the emergency sitting. He added that the speaker was lawfully empowered to convene the state assembly on March 3 as the last meeting of the assembly in November last year was adjourned sine die and was not prorogued (suspended. If it was prorogued, only the Sultan of Perak can summon the assembly.Read here for more
   
   
6. February 27: 5.30pm
   Perak speaker V Sivakumar today called for an emergency state assembly sitting on March 3. The assembly is expected to vote on two motions related to the constitutional crisis in the state. The first motion by Titi state representative Khalil Idham Lin Abdullah is for a vote of confidence for Pakatan Rakyat’s ousted menteri besar Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin.The second motion by Chang Lih Kang (PKR-Teja) is for the state assembly to be dissolved in order to hold a fresh elections. Read here for more