By Sotumadu
IPOH, Feb 6 — Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has accused Barisan Nasional of planning yet another “coup d’état” if the Federal Court rules in his favour next week and reinstalls him as Perak mentri besar.
“When the Feb 9 (court) decision comes out, Umno will launch yet another coup de tat of the worst kind to wrest power away from us.
“They will do anything in their power to make sure that the Pakatan (Rakyat) would not hold [the] government,” he said in a speech during a breakfast session with the public at Chemor, here this morning.
Later at Sungai Siput, Nizar explained to The Malaysian Insider that he was “pre-empting” Umno’s next move in predicting what would happen once the Federal Court delivers its decision in the MB vs MB case next Tuesday.
“If the decision sides with me, they will get (deputy Speaker) Hee Yit Foong to convene a special assembly sitting so that they can move a vote of no-confidence against me as the mentri besar,” said Nizar.
A vote of no-confidence against Nizar would see the fiery leader losing his post as mentri besar once again for PR only holds 28 seats in the 59-seat assembly.
While BN also shares the same number of assemblymen, they would also get supporting votes from the infamous three “frogs” who have become “BN-friendly independents.”
Although Hee, by chairing the assembly, will be unable to cast her vote, BN would still have a two-seat edge over PR.
Nizar said he would not put it past BN to perform yet another power grab.
“They will use their people to stop the lawful Speaker of Perak, V. Sivakumar from entering into the hall,” he predicted.
Should Nizar win in his appeal in the MB vs MB case, The Malaysian Insider understands that Sivakumar would automatically be re-instated as the lawful Speaker of Perak.
This is because all the events, including the swearing-in of Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir as the new mentri besar and the appointment of BN’s Speaker, Datuk R. Ganesan, that took place after Nizar’s ousting would be considered as null and void.
In a mammoth ceramah last night at the Ku Tien hall in Ayer Tawar, Seri Manjung, Nizar told a crowd of over 3,000 people of his suspicions, in a clear bid to warn the BN government against any hanky-panky.
He retold the story of the “violence” that BN had used against the 28 PR assemblymen during the tumultuous May 7 sitting as well as the recent Oct 28 sitting last year.
“They are capable of doing anything. That is why I am saying, on Feb 10 or Feb 11, after the court decision, BN will once again grab power from us,” he said.
He alleged that there was irregularity in Defence Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi’s call for a meeting with all veteran army personnel at the State Secretariat today.
“What is the meaning of this? It is because they know that the support of the people is with us. So they will stop at nothing — they will use their police power, the commandos and their people to stop us.
“But I hope that, despite this, the judgment on Feb 9 will be a fair one where the people of Perak will get their rights returned,” he said.
Zahid met with former army personnel from Perak at the State Secretariat this morning and handed out awards to 22 personnel for their contributions.
During the ceramah, several other PR heavyweights were also present to engage the crowd, including DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and PKR supremo, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar, however, left early after a short speech, to attend to another function.
In spite of this, the size of the crowd that gathered for the ceramah was a good boost to the spirits of the Perak PR representatives.
For the past week, the PR team has been campaigning furiously across the state in preparation for the coming Feb 9 decision and to cement their support from the people in conjunction with the one-year anniversary of the power grab.
During today’s expedition, Nizar, who is leading the northbound bus to Parit Buntar, received warm response from the public.
“It has been very promising so far. The people are responding well to us,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
He will make at least 10 stops, in the towns of Jelapang, Chemor, Sungai Siput, Kuala Kangsar, Lenggong, Padang Rengas, Changkat Jering, Taiping, Bagan Serai and ending with a ceramah at Parit Buntar.
The southbound expedition will pass through the towns of Batu Gajah, Gopeng, Kampar, Tapah, Bidor, Slim River, Tanjung Malim and ends in Teluk Intan.
Both expeditions, which kicked off from the “Democracy Tree” here this morning, are being followed by state PR representatives and party members.
To lend a softer touch to the campaign, Nizar also brought along his wife, Datin Seri Fatimah Taat, and his two young daughters aboard the bus
