MALAYSIA APPEARED to be heading for a constitutional crisis yesterday as the government attempted to retake control of a state government which had been won by the opposition in elections last March.
Police in riot gear surrounded the government building of Perak state after its chief minister, an opposition member, refused an order by the local sultan to step down.
The crisis was triggered when four members of the opposition in Perak’s parliament decided to defect, giving their support to the local arm of the ruling National Front government. The move would give the ruling coalition a majority to form a new state government.
The defections were seen as a boost for Najib Razak, the incoming prime minister, who is expected to take power next month.
The government has recently suffered several byelection defeats which have eroded its majority in the national parliament.
The confrontation in Perak also suggests that the national government may be embarking on a more confrontational approach to the opposition, led by Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister, which is trying to wrest control of the national government.
Perak was one of five states won by the opposition last March in an unprecedented setback for the government, which also lost its two-thirds majority in the national parliament in the March elections.
The crisis blew up after Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, Perak’s chief minister, asked Sultan Azlan Shah to call a snap election that he claimed was constitutionally required.
But the sultan, whose permission is required before parliament can be dissolved, ruled yesterday that the chief minister should resign instead.
Mohammad Nizar refused and said he now expected to be arrested.
The reputation of Mr Najib could be damaged if voters decide that the seizure of the state government was undemocratic. The tussle over control of Perak, one of Malaysia's most important states, could also distract the government from its task of tackling the slowing economy, analysts said. – ( Financial Timesservice)