By Clara Chooi
IPOH: The day has finally arrived. After today, Perakians will find out who, according to legal provisions, is the rightful Mentri Besar of Perak — Umno’s Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir or PAS’s Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.

When the Federal Court convenes at 9.30am today, its five-man bench will hopefully deliver a decision that will clear the air of uncertainty that has been hovering over the state for the past one year. Furthermore, the decision is important not just for the purpose of ending the state’s imbroglio once and for all, but also because it would serve as a precedent to any future constitutional crises in the nation.

All eyes will be on the five judges on the panel today — Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff leads the bench with Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria, Justices Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Datuk Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff, and Datuk Abdul Hamid Embong. Their credibility and that of the entire judicial system in the country will take a severe beating if their judgment is deemed biased and unfair.

Meanwhile, the two contenders in the ring whiled away the final days and hours before today’s big fight trying their best to garner support for their cause.

Ousted Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Mentri Besar Nizar embarked on an exhausting journey across the state, attending numerous walk-abouts, lunches, dinners, prayers and a series of ceramahs at a variety of locations nightly. The response has been encouraging for Nizar as the people of Perak needed little to remind them of the colourful events that had adorned the state’s political scene last year.

They remembered the story of the three PR defectors and how their defections had tipped the balance in favour of the Barisan Nasional (BN). They remembered the story of how Nizar had allegedly engaged in an act of “treason” with Sultan Azlan Shah when he refused the ruler’s request to resign as the mentri besar. They remembered the series of farcical assembly sittings and the many scenes of chaos that rocked the state; of civilians and state assemblymen being arrested and manhandled by the police, of the many scuffles and verbal battles Probably one of the most enduring memory of all, was the sight of PR’s Speaker V. Sivakumar being roughly dragged from the Speaker’s chair during the May 7 sitting. Aware of this, Nizar went on overdrive during his ceramahs, and graphically outlined all of what he claimed were the “injustices” that PR had been forced to endure over the past one year.

His predecessor Zambry however chose a more subtle campaign approach. Despite refusing to enter into the PR’s “boxing ring”, the ever-smiling leader has been quite busy himself. Over the last few months, Zambry has made more than one overseas excursion, in an attempt to draw in more investments for the state and convince investors that Perak was politically stable. His strategy was to impress voters with his achievements and the work that he and the BN had been doing to improve the state’s economy.

In the past week, Zambry delivered several speeches during his official functions, listing down to all those who had gathered, the number of people-centric policies and goodies his government had offered. He has also been interviewed by a number of newspapers and online media, and took the chance to expound the services that the BN had rendered for the state over the past year.

On Saturday, the first anniversary of his government, Zambry hosted a “solat hajat” at his official residence here and according to his aide, a massive crowd of nearly 8,000 people had attended. “We even ran out of food, there were so many of them. They parked their cars along the entire stretch of the road from one roundabout to the other,” said the aide. The sheer size of the crowd, was a boost for Zambry, who has been the subject of criticism and public ridicule during his year-long rule.

Despite this however, it is Nizar who clearly enters today’s battle as the underdog. The fallen leader spent last night hosting special prayers at a mosque in Kampar. The prayers, he told The Malaysian Insider, were merely a call for justice to be served and the truth to prevail. Deep in his heart, Nizar said he believed his righteousness would finally earn him a victory. “I am confident the decision will favour the Pakatan Rakyat. A thief cannot be right. How can he be right when he is a thief?” he said.

He added that his confidence stemmed neither from his faith in the country’s judiciary nor the resounding rumours that he would win but from the fact that he had not done any wrong. “We have been proving that we have done the right thing. In terms of democracy and the rights of the people, we have always been on the right side. I believe strongly that those who are right will win,” he said.

After last night’s prayers at the mosque, Nizar, together with his wife Datin Seri Fatimah Taat commuted straight to Kuala Lumpur to prepare for this morning’s sitting. After today’s decision is delivered, Nizar added, he would immediately return to Ipoh and host a gathering to announce to the public the outcome of the case.

He advised all PR supporters who planned to gather at the courthouse today to maintain decorum and not be provocative. “Drive carefully, do not speed. Behave in an orderly fashion befitting of the civilised people that we are, do not be provocative and respect the rule of law.

“I do not wish to see any clashes or vulgarities uttered,” he said.

Zambry however, has no plans to attend today’s decision and will instead tend to another commitment and attend the Rulers Conference scheduled to begin at 9am. He also went about his usual routine last night and attended to his monthly religious studies discussion. His aide told The Malaysian Insider that the discussion was on Zambry’s personal schedule and had nothing to do with preparations for today’s court decision.

In a press conference during a function yesterday, Zambry smiled and told the media that he would leave the entire decision “to fate”. “I believe in God and I will leave my fate in His hands. Whatever the decision will be God’s will and I will accept it,” he said, when asked of his confidence level.

Courtesy: TheMalaysianInsider