> Nizar to challenge Article 63 of Perak Constitution

 Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin today filed a notice of motion to obtain a court declaration that Article 63 of the Perak State Constitution null and void for being in conflict with the Federal Constitution.

Nizar, 52, filed the notice through legal firm Messrs Leong & Tan at the Federal Court Registry here and named Government of Perak, Government of Malaysia and Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as respondents.

In the application, he said the 1996 amendment to Article 63 which gave jurisdiction to the Federal Court to hear constitutional issues regarding the Perak political crisis was in conflict with Article 4(3) and 4(4) of the Federal Constitution.

He said the State Legislative Assembly did not have the authority to make the amendment.

"Any amendment to Article 63 after Independence is supposed to be made through Article 162(1) of the Federal Constitution because the Federal Court's jurisdiction can only be given by Parliament, not the State Legislative Assembly," he said.

He also requested for the proceedings to determine who is the legitimate Perak Menteri Besar, scheduled to be held at the Federal Court tomorrow, to be deferred pending the disposal of this application - Bernama