The Court of Appeal has declared Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir the rightful mentri besar of Perak in a unanimous decision on Friday.
It granted Zambry his appeal against an earlier High Court decision declaring Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin was the rightful mentri besar of Perak “at all material times.”
The three-man bench, comprising Justices Md Raus Shariff, Zainun Ali and Ahmad Maarop, heard submissions Thursday from counsel from both sides.
Nizar’s lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah said he would file a notice of motion to obtain leave to appeal the decision as soon as possible.
Security was tight at the Palace of Justice here Friday as members of the press and public gathered in large numbers.
Only 15 media passes were issued, while the rest had to use public passes. Not all managed to squeeze into the courtroom, which was standing room only.
Only media representative per organisation was allowed. The Star reporter Yeng Ai Chun, who was twittering from the courtroom, was asked to leave before the bench sat.
The courtroom was quiet when the judgement was read out. When one of Zambry’s lawyers tried to hold a press conference outside the courtoom later, he was booed at, forcing police to intervene to prevent a scuffle.
“It is proven that the Sultan has followed the law,” Zambry’s counsel said, referring to the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, who earlier this year asked Nizar to resign, saying he had lost the majority of the House.
“The right to appoint the mentri besar is the prerogative of the Sultan,” the lawyer said.
DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang, who twittered from the courtroom, described it as a “shotgun judgement.”
On May 12, Dr Zambry had filed an appeal to quash High Court (Appellate and Special Powers) Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim’s ruling.
On Feb 13, Nizar had filed for a judicial review against Dr Zambry’s appointment as mentri besar, seeking a declaration that he (Nizar) was the rightful Perak mentri besar and an injunction to bar Dr Zambry from carrying out the duties of mentri besar.
On May 11, the High Court ruled in favour of Nizar, rendering Dr Zambry’s appointment null and void.
However, a day after that, the Court of Appeal granted Dr Zambry a stay of execution, allowing him to remain as mentri besar until his appeal against the High Court ruling was disposed of.
The court was also to hear Nizar’s application to set aside the stay of execution order, but had decided to hear the appeal proper first following the consent of all parties.
( Source : The Star Online )
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