IPOH: The fate of the two PKR assemblymen – Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu – is now in the hands of the Election Commission.
Perak State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar handed over the disputed letters of resignation purportedly from the two men to the state election director Adli Abdullah at 8am Monday to seek a by-election for the two constituencies.
However, Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof said a meeting would be held to discuss the validity of the letters signed by Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman.
Describing the situation as “delicate and unique,” he said a meeting with legal advisers and experts from the Attorney-General’s Chambers must be held before any decision was made.
He said that only when the validity of the letters was determined could the commission decide whether a by-election needed to be held or not.
“I was informed by the Perak commission director that there are two letters in his hands; one from the Speaker and another from the two assemblymen.
“We have to study the contents of the letters, refer to the Perak Constitution and study other laws before we can announce or decide anything,” he said yesterday.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin had an audience with the Sultan of Perak but refused to speak to the press when he emerged about 30 minutes later.
This fuelled speculation that he might have sought the Ruler’s consent to dissolve the state assembly and have a state election but this was denied by other Pakatan Rakyat leaders.
Jamaluddin, when asked by The Star late yesterday about his earlier statement that he would quit PKR and become an independent, said: “Things are quite chaotic at the moment. It will settle down in a few days.”
Mohd Osman, through a representative, lodged a police report at the Shah Alam police headquarters to state that he did not tender his resignation as a state assemblyman last evening.
Leaders of component PR parties held closed-door meetings on their own.
After meeting DAP elected representatives here yesterday, state senior exco member Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham said that the Perak Legislative Assembly had accepted the two men’s resignation letters.
“We deem the letters as true and genuine until proven otherwise. We are ready for the by-elections,” he told reporters when responding to questions on the validity of the letters.
He refused to comment on whether all Perak DAP assemblymen had signed similar letters after the elections.
“We did sign some documents but I have to look at the contents first,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state was still rife with speculation that crossover talks had intensified.
Sources said that Barisan Nasional was wooing three more Pakatan elected representatives and in return Pakatan was targeting two Barisan assemblymen.
They said that PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in a meeting with state Pakatan leaders yesterday, said he was still in touch with two Barisan representatives.
Edited from The Star 3 Feb 09
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