UPDATE8 Nizar rejects call to resign, Perak Sultan refuses to dissolve state assembly

The Pakatan, which is confident of securing two-thirds majority in the state assembly, maintains its view that the best solution is for fresh and fair polls

The shaky and dubious line-up offered by the BN also does not represent the racial mix of the state. There is only one non-Malay assemblyman in the entire 28-member BN team.

The Sultan’s decision - wise or not, fair or not - may spark a fresh scramble for non-Malay lawmakers as the MIC, MCA mimic their big brother, Umno, and try to scalp a few defections of their own …

By Wong Choon Mei

The Perak Ruler, Sultan Azlan Shah, has rejected the advice of Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin to dissolve the state assembly and has asked him to step down to make way for a new state government.

“If Mohammad Nizar does not resign his post as Perak Menteri Besar together with the members of the state executive council, the posts of Menteri Besar and state executive councillors are considered vacant,” Bernama reported on its website.

But Nizar, the amiable and well-liked PAS leader, has decided to dig in. Urging the people of Perak to back him, the bespectacled and soft-spoken MB has described his government’s ouster as a coup and refuses to give in.

“I asked for consent to dissolve to protect the rights of the people. The Barisan Nasional’s majority may not be a valid one,” Nizar told reporters.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has had talks with the Sultan. But it is not clear what they spoke about. The 28 BN assemblymen and three Independents are expected to be sworn in as the new state government tomorrow.

The decision by Sultan Azlan is not totally unexpected. The BN-controlled media has been predicting the fall of the Pakatan government for weeks.

Pakatan leaders too have been sombre in private, given the far-reaching arm of the Umno-BN’s influence.

Nevertheless, Sultan Azlan’s decision will spark tsunami-scale reverberations across the nation, and further erode public confidence in the country’s institutions.

Distrust and disgust, both nationally and internationally, will also increase with the latest disillusionment

Already, a hail of criticism has rained down on the Perak Ruler, as disappointed Malaysians expressed their frustration and feelings of betrayal against him - a former top judge they had respected without question in the past …