Perak's political saga
I got the legal clauses relating to the political crisis in Perak from Dandelions. HRH the Sultan of Perak has declined the request to dissolve the Perak state assembly. I offered the dictates of public policy as a possible reason for the refusal.
After reading the Dandelions’s take, I am inclined to agree that HRH may have misdirected himself to arrive at the decision as HM did. But that would be only be true,if that decsion is based solely on legal grounds, excluding the public policy reasoning. What I am saying is, maybe the public policy considerations are of greater importance to legal ones in deciding this political impasse.
The relevant clauses which were pointed out, are as follows:-
Federal constitution: Article 43 (4): If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet.
Perak state constitution: Artikel XVI(6): If the Mentri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the Legislative Assembly, then unless at his request His Royal Highness dissolves the Legislative Assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the Executive Council.
Reading these two clauses, we would come to the assertions like Tengku Razaleigh did. That this whole business of political coup d’état is inherently wrong. I shall be writing on this at another time. Reading the Perak state constitution, being an ex ADUN myself, I would have thought the term Legislative Assembly would mean, the Dewan must called to order and then decide the MB’s fate. Hence like Tengku Razaleigh said, "Defections are not the basis for the formation of a government. Elections are." And further in his article:
Similarly, the Constitution provides for a definitive way to test if the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister commands a majority in the dewan or in Parliament, as the case may be. We put the question to a vote of confidence on the floor of the Dewan. Only the answer of the assembly counts. It doesn’t matter how many sworn statements, defections, press conferences, and declarations you have, nor what forms of advertisement, display, inducement or force you bring to bear on the question.
After reading the Dandelions’s take, I am inclined to agree that HRH may have misdirected himself to arrive at the decision as HM did. But that would be only be true,if that decsion is based solely on legal grounds, excluding the public policy reasoning. What I am saying is, maybe the public policy considerations are of greater importance to legal ones in deciding this political impasse.
The relevant clauses which were pointed out, are as follows:-
Federal constitution: Article 43 (4): If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet.
Perak state constitution: Artikel XVI(6): If the Mentri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the Legislative Assembly, then unless at his request His Royal Highness dissolves the Legislative Assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the Executive Council.
Reading these two clauses, we would come to the assertions like Tengku Razaleigh did. That this whole business of political coup d’état is inherently wrong. I shall be writing on this at another time. Reading the Perak state constitution, being an ex ADUN myself, I would have thought the term Legislative Assembly would mean, the Dewan must called to order and then decide the MB’s fate. Hence like Tengku Razaleigh said, "Defections are not the basis for the formation of a government. Elections are." And further in his article:
Similarly, the Constitution provides for a definitive way to test if the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister commands a majority in the dewan or in Parliament, as the case may be. We put the question to a vote of confidence on the floor of the Dewan. Only the answer of the assembly counts. It doesn’t matter how many sworn statements, defections, press conferences, and declarations you have, nor what forms of advertisement, display, inducement or force you bring to bear on the question.
24 comments:
Malik Imtiaz Sarwar provided a more detailed commentary on the issue.And Che Det have distilled it down to very simple nuggets essentially reinforcing that Nizar is still the MB until the Dewan boots him out.
Back to my contention that UMNO shld hv saner and wiser minds then to put the Sultan into such a position and henceforth now plunging the state into a full blown Constitutional crisis.It does not bode well for us to hv such a leadership.
Lets go solat dulu aja doonk
Salam Tok Sak,
I was reading Prof. Shad of UiTM Law Faculty's comment in the Sun Daily today on this issue - one brave professor indeed! And I tend to agree that the Sultan is "missing the point"... the rakyat of Perak in GE12 chose for "change" and they got it through democracy; however, because of these 4 frogs (by commiting personal & political expediency), this "wish" of the people of Perak was turned back to square one. It makes sense then, for the people to be given another chance to decide, i.e. have another state election. The Sultan himself said a few weeks ago that, "the Raja2 have to EARN the respect of the people; otherwise they will become IRRELEVANT."... as I was saying, Melayu in particular and Malaysians in general, are wasting our precious time & effort with too much politicking while the economy is worsening; and we'll pay dearly for this, I'm sure!
Dato Sak,
It's quite clear is it not; that it's members of the Dewan who will decide the MB's fate, by having a vote of confidence. I wonder why BN jumped the process, if they were very confident of voting out the MB ! After all they had more Aduns supporting them ! TDM need not have acted like a mother hen, bringing all her chicks to the palace to show the chicks actually belonged to her ! What a mess ?
Dato I am just a voter, I keep on seeing the federal and state constitution about no confidence against the PM or MB. What about th e rights of the constituency voting rakyat file for a sign petition of no confidence and negligent against the voted rep. The whole constituency voters make a combine police report and then file it in court. Can that be done by the rightful rakyat?
Hi Anonymous,
A real GEM one and hope this become a reality. A signed statement by majority of the constituency, kick the damn running DOG out. Just wondering, whether people vote for PARTY or THE GUY? I would say PARTY. So it's proper for the running DOG to resign. DAMN running DOGS. Banished them forever...you will be remembered for 3 generations and be condemned.
I wonder what's next for the fragile UMNO-led Perak state govt if the two vultures from PKR are found guilty as chareged unless some pre-emptive measures are taken where the Anti-Corruption Commission suddenly find that these two have no case to answer. I wonder what's next for the agency?
As a voter I surely remember that I mark a X next to a party symbol and not next to any mark face that I remember so to me they are just rep that can be dispose but not the winning party the rep did not win.
Dato'
I need someone to explain this to me. Yes the Executive is now controlled by BN, but the legislative is still controlled by PR i.e. by the Speaker YB Sivakumar. In the house he's the boss. To him those three reps have officially resigned as assemblymen and the speaker has the right to refuse them entry. Should PR calls for a vote of no confidence and it's a stalemate. Then how????
Aku rasa isu utama di sini adalah menurut Speaker DUN bahawa 3 kerusi adalah diisytihar kosong,maka ini seolah-olah BN masih tidak mempunyai majoriti kerana sama jumlah 28 kerusi.
Di sini aku nak tanya adalah Surat tak bertarikh itu LEGAL?? Kalau tak salah di satu blog dan rasa-rasa Karpal Singh sendiri cakap yg Terdapat Satu KEs yg mana berkenaan lompat parti dulu yg sama juga guna surat tak bertarikh ini tetapi ADUN tersebut menang sehingga MAhkamah PErsekutuan..
Ape ke he nye ni?? Siapa yg betul ni
i guess the sultan has made his decision based on best interest of rakyat and negeri perak.
we can argue until the cows lompat pagar again and kapal singh sueing the sultan for nominating his new MB,,,,its the sultan who has the final say in this case since even the rakyat had given 50;50 % vote for both parties involved.
in fact, the 3 frogs should be boiled alive,,,hidup hidup cas. of the trouble created by them.
Wasting time, money n efforts rather than managing the economics and rakyat well being !
Am sure, the sultan has had enough of these nonsense too.
Guess the Perak Sultan will be the next target by the politicians,,,,i would suggest that the constitution be reviewed again and to ensure that the Sultan has the final say in such matters of the state in future.
Looks like everyone is trying to lawan towkay nowadays !!!
islandman
Asalamualaikum,
Rakyat Perak dan seluruh Malaysia marilah berkabung atas kematian demokrasi
dan berdoalah kuasa kepada rakyat untuk memilih di kembalikan serta merta.
InsyaAllah MB Nizar akan kembali berkuasa.
Ameen.
Kalau Sultan membubarkan dewan negeri, bukankah itu juga melanggar undang2 tubuh setelah jelas BN mendapat majoriti?
Saya memang memilih perubahan pada PRU12. Tapi setelah melihat PKR memberi hak tanah 999 tahun kepada kaum Cina, saya pikir lagi baik kita berubah kepada BN (di Perak) kembali. Pada saya tindakan Sultan memihak kepada rakyat. Kenapa ada yg merasakan the Sultan is being misled in making the decision for rakyat. Apakah 'rakyat' Sultan merujuk kepada penyokong PKR saja ke?
Ada yg mempertikaikan kewibawaan dua ADUN tersebut kerana terdapat kes rasuah dimahkamah. Anwar Ibrahim pun ada kes jugak. So yg itu macamana?
RunnerfromKuantan
Whats all this crazy haloo-baloo????
Sultan Azlan was once the Lord President!! The number one judge in the whole of Malaysia! Just because he tak side ex MB Perak, so hes made a mistake?????
O so?? Had he sided Nizar then baru betul?? GO TO HELL PKR!
This is the reason why Monarchy must be abolished, in a progressive century of achieving true and secular democracy. The self-elected monarchy in Malaysia, with 9 Kings who are mainly millionaires, are a travesty of true justice, equality and democracy in a progressive modern world, and to the poor in Malaysia! And to fair and just-minded Islam.
Katharina Sri (former Noor Aza Othman)
Germany.
Read this to see why freedom of speech is not all rosy....
http://books.dreambook.com/duli/duli.html
Perak politics post-March 2008 was fluid because the result was not conclusive. The Government cobbled together was destined to be precarious for all sorts of reasons. The seeming marginalisation of the conventional Malay political dominance is big deal. Credit to everyone, a new less Malay-centric structure was conceived, and observed, with the help of Sultan Azlan, who then, must have eloquently cross-examined Nizar in their weekly meeting to monitor its progress.
To sustain the new balances of power, everyone (meaning politicians) needed to be, funnily enough, above politics. Predictably a proliferation of issues ensued. Did the DAP pass the test of being non-communal? And do so in too short a spell? The nexus between the Indian representatives and their Chinese brethrens in the DAP offers an intriguing side-show. PKR probably agonised over their own cast. Pas thought, on hindsight, they could have fielded more candidates.
For every new day, Malaysian politics won with this curious political experiment. Alas the fragile structure broke, not on account of the two PKR men, but on the political preferences of the DAP Adun, the Deputy Speaker. In the true spirit of non-racialist plank of DAP, she decided that the structure that some perceived to have offered non-Malay greater space was not sustainable.
Umno political strategists were thrown a lifeline by the Bota incident and by the subterfuge of Sept 16 that invited politicians to dishonour the vote.
The competing alliances sought the Ruler's intervention as they should. His overwhelming interest would be to yield an enduring Government partly because he hates presiding over a circus. As a senior statesman, towering legal mind and now an experienced Ruler, Sultan Azlan has gone through many a political battle. He understands most vividly a new Perak election could precipitate a political situation that would warrant a fresh nationwide polls. Should the subsequent national election proves inconclusive with a hung Parliament amid a backdrop of an economic crisis, rigorous debate and articulation of issues may no longer work as more take to the street for recourse to issues like unemployment and labour issues.
Sultan Azlan and Raja Nazrin must have screened the Pangkor Adun for a while now. His politics, networking prowess and his learned ways cannot have escaped the Ruler and his suave son.
The entire range of Sultan Azlan's judgment shall withstand the most gruelling of scrutiny.
Salam Tok sak,
you have always been a fierce critic of UMNO and yet you always remain a fierce defender when the crunch comes! You're definitely the 'frog-buster' in UMNO!
This Perak issue has gone beyond the personalities/political parties involved...lets get that into focus.
We have a full blown constitutional crisis.We are going to see the workings of the check and balance of the judiciary,monarchy and the executives...and it will be a complex and ponderous struggle.
I wished for saner and wiser minds that would not have put us in this situation ,if they have practiced a little more caution and consideration.
If this is political maturity,then i prefer to be in diapers forever.
Najib belum PM sudah like this.
What happens when he becomes the PM?
Shudder to think of it.
May God have mercy.
ak47,
though you are UMNO, i respect you for your respect of the rule of law. if only your kind forms the majority in UMNO, there will be no constitution crisis now.
no, najib never understand the rule of law and mandate to rule from heaven. he will never. Good luck AK47, you needa huge dose to keep UMNO relevant as it descends into hell.
From some posting in some blogs... I think there is a possibility that HRH The Sultan Perak was blackmailed by Najis/UMNO/BN... especially when Nizar mentioned about HRH book.... HRH silenced and look down... which looks like HRH was forced to make decision that is against his opinion....
From some posting in some blogs... I think there is a possibility that HRH The Sultan Perak was blackmailed by Najis/UMNO/BN... especially when Nizar mentioned about HRH book.... HRH silenced and look down... which looks like HRH was forced to make decision that is against his opinion....
so they are going to spend the rest of their term arguing who is the rightful MB? A hung parliament is a good situation.It worked in England, didn't it?
Tak malu ke Malaysians dengan politik macam politik berok ni? Hormat pilihan rakyat.They went for alternative party by exercising their right to choose (by voting)
The empty vessels or noise makers have tired themselves out. Over the past one week or so, the media, lawyers, lecturers, senior politicians, various states' speakers and their deputies had loudly spoken and expressed their differing views, remarks, criticisms and backward blessings on the suspension action of the newly appointed magnificent seven for contempt of the Assembly by the first-time Perak State Assembly Speaker, Sivakumar.
That unprecedented Sivakumar's action had certainly animated many UMNO meat-heads to jump into irrational actions by lodging reports to the Police against the Perak Speaker for all sorts of speculative offences.
Actions by UMNOputras and its Youth Wing tried as usual sowed the seeds of hatred between the royalty and the PR in that it had committed treason, non-compliance, disloyalty and defiance against HRH. For heaven sake, read the federal constitution and the state assembly standing order before uttering your mouths.
What impressed me most in the midst of this cacophonous milieu was the coolness and calmness as exemplified by the Perak royalty and the Speaker.
By their concerted actions plus the irresponsible and judgmental reporting by the government-controlled media, I am convinced that the Perak Speaker had been already been judged and condemned.
The Police was made to look so foolish and stupid when they were being pointed out during their investigative meeting with the Speaker of Perak the relevant provision in the Federal Constitution that immunised him and state assemblymen who decided on the suspension.
Meanwhile, an audience is being sought by the Speaker with HRH to seek his consent to convene the assembly meeting early and let the house decide on how to resolve the impasse - to dissolve the assembly and go for a snap state election or pass a vote of confidence on the PR MB and so forth.
In my view, the best way to resolve the dilemma is to either a referendum or call for a fresh state election following the dissolution of the state assembly.
We do not need Queen Counsel from UK to interpret our constitution. I am sure we have competent lawyers who can provide the service just as good. Why waste money.
I am all for a fresh state election.
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