IT is a cardinal rule in the game of musical chairs that once someone has occupied a seat, no one else can validly sit in it. The Federal Court however, appears to think otherwise in declaring the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir the rightful Perak Menteri Besar. This is despite the [...]

EC chairperson Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof THE nationwide constitutional law tutorial continues with the latest Kota Siputeh case. The court has had to intervene once again to arbitrate between the speaker of a legislative assembly and the Election Commission (EC). This time, the 16 Nov 2009 High Court decision ruled that the EC [...]

Getting the full 11-member bench to hear the case is atall order A FULL bench of judges to hear appeals at the federal court has never been granted in Malaysia’s judicial history, lawyers recall. Some say this is not surprising. For administrative, procedural or logistical reasons, having all judges of the highest court available at [...]

SAME circus, different act. The dramatic highlight of the Perak legislative assembly sitting on 7 May 2009 was the violent removal of Speaker V Sivakumar by police officers. The highlight of Wednesday’s 28 Oct sitting was the simultaneous running of two separate assemblies under the same roof. Was anything achieved? Sure, Barisan Nasional (BN) passed [...]

Pakatan Rakyat Speaker V Sivakumar (left) and Barisan Nasional Speaker R Ganesan THE Perak Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s persistence in not legitimising the Barisan Nasional (BN) state government draws either admiration or irritation. In part, it’s a difference of opinion that reflects political alignments. The BN-aligned depict such resilience as “buat kecoh”. This was aptly described [...]

JUSTICE is becoming a rare commodity in our courts when judges of questionable ability sit in judgment. This situation raises serious concerns regarding the appointment of judges and their elevation to the bench. In the recent cases involving the Perak crisis we wonder whether the Federal Court judges and the Court of Appeal judges who [...]