The Court of Appeal will hear on May 21 Zambry Abd Kadir's appeal against the High Court decision in declaring his rival Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful Perak menteri besar.

Lawyers for Nizar told malaysiakini today that the appeal date has been informed to both parties.

However the panel of judges that will be hearing the case is still unknown.

Also on the same day, the Court of Appeal will be hearing an application by Nizar to set aside a stay order obtained by Zambry against the High Court ruling.

nizar pc 110509 03 The Nizar ( right ) application was originally slated to be heard next Monday but it will now be heard jointly with the Zambry appeal in Thursday.

Last Monday, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim ruled that Nizar was the legitimate menteri besar of the state.

His decision had forced Zambry to vacate the office, only for him to get back in again the next day after obtaining a stay order. Nizar had then filed an application to set aside that order.

Nizar's lawyer in Ipoh Leong Cheok Keng told Malaysiakini that they received the letter from Court of Appeal registry at 4pm today.

He said that they have written to the court to state that Nizar's stay application must be heard first before Zambry's appeal.

Nizar's lawyers are also of the opinion that their application to set aside the stay could still be heard on Monday as originally scheduled, without having to be jointly heard with Zambry's appeal.

BN, Pakatan willing to talk

The fight for the menteri besar's post has been ongoing since February following the defection of three Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives to become BN-friendly independents.

These defections swung the power of numbers in the state assembly towards Barisan Nasional.

Following this the Sultan of Perak had then instructed Nizar to step down, to which the latter had refused. Nizar on the other hand sought for the dissolution of the state assembly.

sivakumar and zambry at perak state assembly 130509 04 The sultan also appointed Zambry as the menteri besar, who had then picked his exco members to administer the state.

However Nizar and other Pakatan elected representatives are disputing Zambry's appointment, as a result of which the former had filed the case against the BN/Umno man.

Yesterday Barisan Nasional chairperson and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said that he was willing to talk with Pakatan to find an amicable solution to the Perak problem. He however was insistent on not holding a state election.

Pakatan, while wanting a snap state polls, are ready to talk to Najib to find a solution.