Editing Perak (section)

=== State administration issues and subsequent 2009 constitutional crisis ===
{{main|2009 Perak constitutional crisis|Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin v Zambry Abdul Kadir}}
The opposition [[Pakatan Rakyat]] (PR) coalition won in Perak in the [[Malaysian general election, 2008|2008 general election]]. Although the [[Democratic Action Party]] (DAP) had won the most seats of the opposition parties, [[Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin]] of the [[Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party]] (PAS) was appointed ''Menteri Besar'' of the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=/2008/3/12/election2008/20080312174629&sec=Election2008|title=State PAS secretary made Perak Mentri Besar|work=The Star|date=12 March 2008|access-date=12 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201151207/http://thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F3%2F12%2Felection2008%2F20080312174629&sec=Election2008|archive-date=1 February 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> This happened because the state constitution states that the ''Menteri Besar'' must be a [[Muslim]], unless the sultan specially appoints a non-Muslim to the office.<ref name="BernauerBochsler2014">{{cite book|author1=Julian Bernauer|author2=Daniel Bochsler|author3=Rogers Brubaker|author4=Magdalena Dembinska|author5=Fulya Memisoglu|author6=Karolina Prasad|author7=Antoine Roger|author8=Edina Szöcsik|author9=Hanna Vasilevich|author10=Doris Wydra|author11=Christina Isabel Zuber|title=New Nation-States and National Minorities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SxePBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA142|date=3 March 2014|publisher=ECPR Press|isbn=978-1-907301-86-5|pages=142–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/politics-and-policy-storm-brewing-perak|title=Politics and Policy: Storm brewing in Perak|author=Mohsin Abdullah|publisher=The Edge Markets|date=5 April 2019|access-date=15 October 2019|quote=According to the state constitution, the menteri besar must be a Malay Muslim.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015081448/https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/politics-and-policy-storm-brewing-perak|archive-date=15 October 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> As the DAP did not have any Muslim assemblymen in Perak at that time, the ''Menteri Besar'' had to come from one of its two allied parties, the [[People's Justice Party (Malaysia)|People's Justice Party]] (PKR) or the PAS.<ref name="BernauerBochsler2014"/> However, the national ruling party, [[Barisan Nasional]] (BN), gained control over the state government administration when three PR assemblymen, [[Hee Yit Foong]] ([[Jelapang (state constituency)|Jelapang]]), Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi ([[Behrang (state constituency)|Behrang]]), and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu ([[Changkat Jering (state constituency)|Changkat Jering]]) defected to the BN as independent assemblymen during the crisis, on 3 February 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mstar.com.my/lokal/semasa/2009/02/04/pakatan-rakyat-perak-tumbang-bn-bentuk-kerajaan|title=Pakatan Rakyat Perak tumbang, BN bentuk kerajaan|trans-title=Perak Pakatan Rakyat collapsed, BN form the government|author=Zanariah Abdul Mutalib|language=ms|publisher=mStar|date=4 February 2009|access-date=15 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015071510/https://www.mstar.com.my/lokal/semasa/2009/02/04/pakatan-rakyat-perak-tumbang-bn-bentuk-kerajaan|archive-date=15 October 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Kee Thuan Chye|title=March 8: Time for Real Change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MeKIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA44|date=2 October 2010|publisher=Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd|isbn=978-981-4382-81-6|pages=44–}}</ref> A statement from the office of the Sultan of Perak urged the PR ''Menteri Besar'' to resign, but also refused to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly, which would have triggered new elections.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mstar.com.my/lokal/semasa/2010/02/09/kronologi-krisis-politik-perak/|title=Kronologi Krisis Politik Perak|trans-title=Chronology of the Perak Political Crisis|language=ms|publisher=mStar|date=9 February 2009|access-date=15 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015075040/https://www.mstar.com.my/lokal/semasa/2010/02/09/kronologi-krisis-politik-perak/|archive-date=15 October 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> Amid multiple protests, lawsuits and arrests, a new BN-led Assembly was sworn in on 7 May. The takeover was then ruled illegal by the [[High Courts (Malaysia)|High Court]] in Kuala Lumpur, on 11 May 2009, restoring power to the PR.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSKLR437912|title=Malaysia court rules opposition runs Perak state|author1=David Chance|author2=Razak Ahmad|author3=Soo Ai Peng|author4=Julie Goh|author5=Bill Tarrant|work=Reuters|date=11 May 2009|access-date=15 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015075610/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKLR437912|archive-date=15 October 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Ooi2010">{{cite book|author=Kee Beng Ooi|title=Between UMNO and a Hard Place: The Najib Razak Era Begins|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yrubOb-42rIC&pg=PA37|year=2010|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian|isbn=978-981-4311-28-1|pages=37–}}</ref> The following day, the [[Court of Appeal of Malaysia]] suspended the High Court ruling pending a new Court of Appeal judgement. On 22 May 2009, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court's decision and returned power to the BN. Many opposition party supporters believed that the crisis was effectively a "power grab", in which the democratically elected government was ousted through the political machinations of the more dominant national ruling party.<ref name="Ooi2010"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/why-give-raja-nazrin-space-lucius-goon/|title=Why give Raja Nazrin space?|author=Lucius Goon|newspaper=The Malaysian Insider|date=11 June 2012|access-date=15 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613182537/http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/why-give-raja-nazrin-space-lucius-goon/|archive-date=13 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>