Media Comment by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, 12^th May 2009: 

From a constitutional crisis with two Mentris Besar, Perak has been plunged into a ridiculous situation where no one can legitimately occupy the MB�s office until the Court of Appeal hearing or state general election

The incipient hope of start of restoration of public confidence in the independence of the judiciary sparked by the courageous and landmark judgment by Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim in the Nizar vs Zambry case was cruelly crushed in less than 24 hours.

The Court of Appeal�s super-fastracking of the appeal by the usurper and illegitimate Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir for a stay of the declaration by Justice Abdul Aziz, with the stay granted by a single judge, has created a firestorm of outrage and disillusionment that justice and fair play can be expected from the present judiciary.

This is one email which I received immediately after the extraordinary speed with which Zambry�s application for stay was granted by the Court of Appeal through a single judge:

�I only wish that the courts act like this in all cases, super fast and super efficient. I am intrigued why in some case, it takes months or even years, when, in the above situation and case, it only took several hours for a panel to be set up.

�Why the double standards?

�The man who steals a loaf of bread has to rot in jail for months before his case is even heard. The rationale behind this and the usual excuse is that there is backlog of cases.�

But is Zambry entitled to return to the Perak Mentri Besar�s Office in Ipoh with the stay by the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal �stay� does not make an unlawful and illegitimate Mentri Besar a lawful and legitimate one. All it means is that while Nizar cannot claim back his office at the Perak state secretariat (SUK), Zambry has neither lawful nor legitimate claim either!

From a constitutional crisis with two Mentris Besar, Perak has been plunged into a ludicrous situation where no one can legitimately occupy the Mentri Besar�s office until the Court of Appeal has fully disposed of Zambry�s appeal application or the Assembly is dissolved for new state general elections.

Why all this rigmarole in the courts when only the Perak voters can make the truly legitimate decision who is the MB of Perak?

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor