We’ll get it back in the next election: Nizar

(The Star) - Pakatan Rakyat is setting its sights on the next general election to wrest Perak back from the Barisan Nasional, the state’s former mentri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said.

He said the Opposition alliance respected the Federal Court’s unanimous decision Tuesday to declare Barisan’s Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as the rightful mentri besar of the state.

“We accept the decision even though this is very upsetting,” he told reporters at the Palace of Justice here Tuesday.

Nizar said if the state assembly was not dissolved to pave the way for fresh elections, the people of the state would have wait till the general election to decide who should govern them.

“The rakyat (people) are the best judge and offer the strongest mandate,” Nizar said.

Asked if Pakatan would seek a review of the decision, he said he would need to analyse the details of the written judgement before deciding whether to do so.

“We will hold discussions with other party leaders and lawyers on whether to raise Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court (to review the court ruling),” he said, adding that the court verdict was “not unexpected.”

Mohammad Nizar, who described Tuesday as the “saddest moment in Malaysian history,” urged all Perakians and Pakatan supporters to remain calm over the court ruling.