Perak - Calmness Before Storm

The continuing saga of the power struggle in Perak has taken a new twist - the speaker V Sivakumar called for an emergency sitting of the state assembly on March 3, saying this is resumption of the previous sitting which was adjourned last November. As such, according to the speaker, a royal consent from the Sultan is deemed not necessary.

Is it constitutional to call a DUN sitting without the required royal consent? That leaves plenty of room for legal interpretation.

Inevitably, Perak is now embroiled in a constitutional crisis serious enough to cast reasonable doubts on the legitimacy of the state government.

With the 7 UMNO assemblymen being barred by V Sivakumar from DUN sitting and 3 other assemblypersons having "resigned" as ADUN, PR now has the majority votes in the assembly.

Topping the agenda of the emergency sitting are a vote of confidence on Nizar and a motion to dissolve the DUN. Effectively PR is manoeuvring towards having fresh elections. According to the poll results, this is what the rakyat are asking for.

Perhaps the voters should really be given the final say on the ongoing crisis in Perak!