A Look at Team Najib(1)

by Sakmongkol AK47

Some people erroneously think that it's acceptable to take in below average person as a leader. Such thinking may be difficult to defend. We want leaders who ARE above average. We don't want a jaga sekolah or a gardener to become a deputy minister do we?

The suggestion that having below average talent as leaders is all right, implies as long as a system is in place, we should be all right. That would contradict the experience of most countries. There, we observed that the calibre of people who run the system is more important that the system itself.

This observation is readily illustrated in our implementation of the NEP. The NEP was a system to implement corrective economic measures to create a just and more equitable society. Even after it has been renamed and replaced by other corrective systems or regimes, the targets of achieving Malay economic parity with other groups in Malaysia has not been achieved. Most agree that the chief cause for the sluggishness has been the talent implementing the system.

The sluggishness in implementation can be retraced to the tardiness at the top when we tolerated the inclusion of below average talent. Many are familiar with the saying, sluggishness at the top leads to jackass-lackadaisical implementation below.

It's no longer acceptable to have below average talent as team Najib. Otherwise it will still be labeled as half-past six. Very frustrating. We have a system. We need men to implement it. We need above average talent to do the job.

There's a place in the sun for everyone. But to each his own space and place. Being a leader, or a deputy minister or a minister is no average job. Consequently, we don't ill fit by putting someone who is below average there. In the Islamic religion it is said decline seeps in as soon as we do a misfit- putting a below average in an above average job or even an average person in an not an average job.

Despite my own misgivings about the term elite, when it comes to leadership of this country, the term brings with it, great significance. An elite corps is needed to lead and guide this country. That would sound unfair, but it is also reality. This country's fate and destiny would depend on a cadre group that will inspire and drive this country. Accordingly, the induction of people into this cadre group is the most important first task of the PM.

Let us take the 3rd pillar of the PM's motto. The performance bit is dependent on the quality of the leaders he has brought into the cabinet. I am not sure whether capability is the only criterion he has taken into account. No one has KPI-ed the selection process. Let us see who the doubtful inductees are.

That chap from Sarawak who happens to be the son of the Sarawak Chief Minister is said to be incapable of giving a decent answer in parliament. This seems to be the general impression which I obtained firsthand from many parliamentarians. In the past he has even been involved in pub brawls and was reported to have punched his lady friend in public. His indiscretions would make the revelation about KJ attending a party seemed a tame affair. Yet he is given a deputy minister's post. Political expediency appears to be a more deciding factor there.

Let us accept for the moment that Dato Seri Sulaiman's inclusion into Team Najib is seen as time spent at the apprenticeship phase. That would lend credence to widespread suspicions that he is being prepared for eventual succession to the CM's post in Sarawak. If this is the intention then his inclusion into the Dato Najib's team will serve only to further embolden BN's political enemies in Sarawak. A principal grouse in Sarawak is the almost universal rejection of the idea to have Taib Mahmud's son succeed him. The recent victory in Batang Ai must not be seen as renewed endorsement of Taib Mahmud. The swing towards BN occurred only at the last two days of the by-election. The sudden volte face is suggestive of a change in heart possibly brought about by massive dosage of monetary intakes.

The trio in PM' department.

The appointment of Koh Tsu Koon after losing Penang is a mystery. It can only be rationalised as helping out Gerakan to retain whatever depleting credibility that it has left. Tsu Koon lost the election and he bloody lost the state of Penang. How can a junior partner to UMNO as compared to MCA be asked to play a role in uniting? National Unity is now under the portfolio of Tsu koon. We shall wait what creative measures he will take to forge national unity.

I hope he won't do a Syed Hamid Albar on us by suggesting to the PM the banning in the usage of certain terms like bangsa Cina or the word PENDATANG. So after this there will no more PENDATANG tanpa izin.

Was the move to include Tsu Koon a last minute answer to forestall the self implosion of Gerakan? Maybe UMNO wants to retain Gerakan as an equaliser to MCA's increasingly aggressive posturing?

And when the Gerakan people hailed Tsu Koon's appointment as a super minister they forgot that the term should actually be supernumerary. Tsu Koon is just excess capacity. If you are a medical doctor, Tsu Koon's inclusion in team Najib is just a 3rd nipple. Politically, Tsu Koon's role is just as reserve player and an errand boy. He will just play class monitor overseeing the performance of the 40 deputy ministers. Has he got the resourcefulness and temerity to apply KPI on full ministers especially on the performance of UMNO deputy vice presidents?

I would like Tsu Koon to carry out a watchful surveillance on the performance of Hishamuddin. Hishamuddin's has a track record of bringing with him a battalion of his supporters into the ministry he presides. Will Tsu Koon set up a special squad to monitor the activities of Hisham's battalion?

Law and Parliament Minister.

The inclusion of the obnoxious Nazri Abdul Aziz is indeed a surprise. The Mahathir troopers should watch out for this man. When he was vociferously condemning TDM, I wrote some scathing criticisms of Nazri Aziz. He was extremely abusive, disrespectful and infuriatingly given free hand to run down Dr Mahathir. And I saw none of the current Mahathir lovers denouncing this man.

So what role does this peon of parliament now play? Ah he has been given the additional duty to look after the laws of Malaysia. This was the duty performed by Zaid Ibrahim before.

The real role that Nazri Aziz will play will be as Najib's hatchet man should TDM continue to berate the new administration. Nazri, I suspect will be the voice that Najib isn't. Nazri will say what Najib will not and dare not- berating Mahathir. Other than that, Nazri is simply included in Team Najib because they go back together a long time. The PM calls him brader.

Economic planning unit is now assigned to the vadey-for-breakfast Nor Mohammad Yaakob. Vadey is good for the bowels you know. We will need large intake of vadey in the morning to rein in the goodfellas in the Economic Planning Unit.

Nor Yaakob is probably included on account of his experience in economics. He played a pivotal role in the 1997 economic crises as Dr Mahathir's chief economic enforcer. He flew to South America to brief our own great Helmsman on the currency crisis then. Personally he is seen as a workhorse with the ability and capability to manage the EPU. At the same time, let us hope his son doesn't buy another Lamborghini to celebrate the father's success at being retained as minister.

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About the Author:

Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de plume of this blogger. He was ADUN of Pulau Manis, Pekan.(2004-2008) Trained in Economics at home and abroad. Sakmongkol was a legendary Muay Thai fighter. AK 47 is the Russian made firearm. Sakmongkol will punch, elbow, kick, knee opponents. If these fail, he will fire his AK47.

The Last UMNO Prime Minister

As it now stands, Najib is doomed to be the last UMNO Prime Minister. He will not be even a “one-termer.” He will go down in history as our shortest-serving Prime Minister. Worse, it will be recorded for posterity that he was the Malay leader who brought down a once glorious organization, UMNO, an institution his late father was so instrumental in setting up.


by M. Bakri Musa

Newly-sworn Prime Minister Najib Razak created a buzz when he released 13 prisoners detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and lifted the ban on Harakah and Suara Keadilan, publications of the opposition parties. He also promised “a comprehensive review” of the ISA, a statute long abused to silence the government’s critics.

Malaysians long yearning for a change applauded him. There were skeptics, of course.

Alas that was last week. This week the hopes of those citizens were cruelly crushed when they saw the real Najib with the announcement of his new cabinet. Far from being a team that would wow Malaysians, Najib’s cabinet was, as Tunku Aziz put it, “a team of recycled political expendables.” And a bloated one at that!

The skeptics were right; Najib’s earlier act was nothing but a big and cruel tease.

This roster of “political expendables” was the best that the man could offer, from a leader who only a week earlier warned his party that it should “change or be changed.” When given the ultimate freedom to choose his own team, Najib stuck to the tried and true, or what he thought to be so. So this was Najib’s brave version of “Berani Berubah!” (Dare to Change!).

Najib is incapable of change; there is nothing in him to suggest otherwise. He could not even recognize the need for one, much less respond to it. Change would be totally out of character for the man. Far from welcoming or be invigorated by it, change would threaten him.

Unfortunately for Najib, Malaysia has changed. Incapable of change, he is doomed to be changed come the next general elections, from Prime Minister to Leader of the Opposition. He will be our shortest serving chief executive, our Gerald Ford. Ford was the unelected American President who assumed office following Nixon’s forced resignation over the Watergate scandal. Like Ford, Najib too was not elected to the highest office. Ford was subsequently rejected by voters; the same fate awaits Najib.

For Malaysia, that would truly be a wasted decade, with the first half already being squandered by Najib’s predecessor, Abdullah Badawi.

The True Najib

Najib is the obedient first son, the loyal subordinate, and the traditionalist aristocrat. He even inherited his father’s ancient tribal title, Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar! How quaint in this 21st Century! His career path has been straight and narrow, on a track that had been conveniently laid down for him by others who felt indebted or grateful to his illustrious father.

Najib has never shown a talent for striking new paths. Even his ascendance to the Prime Minister’s office was paved by others, in particular Tun Mahathir and Muhyyudin Yassin. Najib must remember that a favor offered is a favor owed.

Just as he was the obedient son, Najib was also the dutiful and loyal subordinate. His blind obedience to Abdullah Badawi drew the wrath of Tun Mahathir. As for experience, Najib has been dependent on paychecks from the public purse all his adult life. He never had to meet a payroll; he has no idea of the trials and challenges of that endeavor; nor does he appreciate the sense of accomplishments and independence of those who have.

This is not the profile of a leader capable of making radical changes that Malaysia so desperately needs now.

Unfortunately the track Najib is on now ends at his office. Ahead, for him and the nation, is uncharted territory, with steep hills to climb and wide canyons to traverse. Turning back is not an option, as that path so carefully crafted by earlier leaders is now destroyed for lack of maintenance and prudent use.

That Najib is now portrayed as an agent for change is more a tribute to his highly-paid public relations operatives and the all-too-eager-to-please toadies in the mainstream media. However, you could pedal a dud only for so long; sooner or later the ugly reality would emerge and the bubble burst.

When that inevitability happens, beware! Voters react with vengeance when they feel that they have been hoodwinked by their leaders. Ask Najib’s immediate predecessor, Abdullah. The by-election results since the last general elections are portends for Najib and his party.

Totally Inept and Inadequately Prepared

Najib assembled his cabinet only last week. Even then he spent that limited time talking with leaders of his Barisan coalition instead of with potential candidates. He is clearly being negligent. He knew he will be Prime Minster months ago; he should have been interviewing and short-listing candidates all along. Being unopposed as president of UMNO and thus freed from having to campaign, he had plenty of time to preview his choices prior to last week.

I am particularly concerned with the choice of his deputy. Did Najib have a private session with Muhyyudin before selecting him? Nowhere is it written that UMNO Deputy President should also be the Deputy Prime Minister. Najib is trapped by tradition.

Najib should have done a “Khairy Jamaluddin” on Muhyyudin, that is, keep him out of the cabinet and make him focus on rebuilding the party. God knows, UMNO needs intensive rehabilitation as much as its Youth wing, if not more so. Dispensing with Muhyyudin would strengthen Najib’s image as a reformer, quite apart from taking the sting out of having singly excluded Khairy from the cabinet.

Najib gave the very important Education portfolio to Muhyyudin. Is Najib assured that Muhyyudin agrees with him on the major policy issues, in particular the highly contentious matter of continuing the teaching of science and mathematics in English? Muhyyudin is unusually quiet on this.

It is equally hard to be enthusiastic on the rest of Najib’s team. This is what happens when you choose your cabinet based on pleasing others, especially those whom you owe favors.

Najib struggled to get his team, just like Abdullah and Mahathir before him. Like them, he too found the pickings slim as he fished only in the same polluted and shallow puddle of UMNO and Barisan. He did not have the courage to venture beyond.

Najib unwittingly revealed much in his first few days as Prime Minister. Thanks to his PR team, Najib managed to sound very positive, at with his promise of “a comprehensive review” of the ISA. That sent orgies of praise for the man in the mainstream media and elsewhere. The more perceptive (or skeptical) would note that he specifically did not mention anything about repealing it.

Then there was his announcement on the release of the 13 ISA prisoners “with immediate effect.” In Najib’s lexicon, “with immediate effect” means at least three days later! This shows how much he is in tune with the actual workings of the civil service.

If I had been Najib’s communications director, this is what I would have done. Knowing how easily our civil servants could screw things up, I would first check with the Home Ministry, specifically the Chief of Police and Prison Director, to arrange for the release of the prisoners. Send them to the nearby rest house at government expense if their families were not yet ready to receive them. I would then alert television stations and other news media so they would be there to cover it.

Only after assuring myself that all those meticulous preparations are in place would I have Najib make his announcement. Imagine the dramatic impact when the split screen on the nation’s television screens would also show the prisoners being released as he made the announcement. It would also showcase the crispness of Najib’s new administration. Had he done so, he would have been spared the embarrassment of his orders being delayed for days because of – you guessed it! – paperwork!

On the day Najib announced his new cabinet, the judge in the long running Mongolian model murder trial rendered his judgment. Najib had been trying hard to ignore the grizzly tragedy, but it kept cropping up at the most inopportune time. His strategy is to stonewall, banking that the success of his policies would make citizens forget the gruesome crime.

Najib is gravely mistaken in this. Even if his ethics were beyond reproach, Najib would find his policies a tough sell. Conversely, if he could clear up those sordid allegations (assuming of course he is innocent, a huge supposition) he would find that with his personal credibility now enhanced, the public would more likely buy into his policies. Stonewalling is no strategy.

As it now stands, Najib is doomed to be the last UMNO Prime Minister. He will not be even a “one-termer.” He will go down in history as our shortest-serving Prime Minister. Worse, it will be recorded for posterity that he was the Malay leader who brought down a once glorious organization, UMNO, an institution his late father was so instrumental in setting up. All destroyed in just two generations; the first to build it, the second to destroy. Truly a very Malay story!

For those who warmly applauded Najib on his first few days in office thinking that his was the dawn of a new day for the nation, I hope they would translate their disappointment into effective action. Deliver to Najib his own KPI (Key Performance Index) at the next general elections. It will be less than four years away; plenty of time to lay and grease the track for Najib’s (and UMNO’s) exit. ---M. Bakri Musa

BN must win next by-election, says Ku Li

By Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah today warned that Barisan Nasional faces the prospect of losing the federal government if it is defeated in another by-election, calling for further reforms to meet people's expectations.

The Gua Musang MP said it was disgraceful for BN to lose all four by-elections in Peninsular Malaysia since the watershed general election last year.

"Not just a disgrace, but malu-lah (shameful)," Tengku Razaleigh told reporters at his house today.

The Kelantan prince might soon see if BN has recovered from its string of losses as speculation is rife that scandalised PKR Penanti and Bukit Lanjan assemblymen Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin and Elizabeth Wong will resign their seats.

"It makes me sad as an Umno chap that Umno has not won a single by-election so far.

"Before this, we place a candidate and sure as daylight we would win. Now we have to pray, work and throw money but we still did not win," he lamented.

He felt that the losses in the April 7 Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang polls were not necessarily a vote of no faith in newly-appointed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak but a future loss would reflect badly on his new administration.

"I do not think we can afford to lose anymore support. We have lost so much already," he added, referring to BN losing its two-thirds majority in Parliament and four more states in Election 2008.

Tengku Razaleigh said BN must marshal all its resources to get the support of the people in the next polls or "in three or four years, they will all be kicked out of office."

When asked if the increased majority for the opposition in the two Bukit by-elections showed that former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was ineffective in returning support to BN, he replied: "I think you have answered the question."

He pointed out that Najib's administration must be genuine in its efforts to reform as it cannot implement what it has in store for Malaysians without the backing of the people.

Tengku Razaleigh said that reforms were necessary as people were not happy.

"If not they will support you. If people are still blind or in denial, then they should hang up their political hats.”

Tengku Razeleigh added that as an Umno member, he was "desperate" but still "hopeful" despite the party appearing to be a "sinking ship."

As such, he denied that he had plans to join PKR as has been rumoured.

"I do not think that I am going to leave Umno for now. But one can never tell about the future," he said.

Tengku Razaleigh had called the press conference to deny that he had called the new Cabinet line-up "neat" as reported by state news agency Bernama.

press conference - tengku razaleigh's rebuttal

razaleigh.com
Tengku Razaleigh’s official weblog

Is the new government in such desperate need of endorsement that Bernama has to manufacture it ?

Bernama quoted me today as hailing the new cabinet and saying it “could solve the country’s economic problems.” This is a laughable misrepresentation of what I said, and a poor indication of the more open and truthful information order we are told we can look forward to.

I am calling a press conference at my office at 31 Jln Langgak Golf today, Saturday 11 April, at 3.15pm to discuss my actual view of the cabinet, the economy, and what the recent by-elections tell us

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April 10, 2009 19:53 PM

A Neat Cabinet - Razaleigh

GUA MUSANG, April 10 (Bernama) -- Gua Musang Member of Parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has hailed the new cabinet, describing it as "neat" and capable of restoring the people's confidence in the Barisan Nasional (BN).

He said that changes were inevitable if the BN was to win the hearts and minds of the people.

"The previous cabinet is not that neat. We shall see how the new cabinet performs... I truly hope that the new leadership will be able to change things for the better," he said.

He was speaking at the opening of the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tengku Indera Petra 2 Parent-Teacher's Association annual general meeting today.

Tengku Razaleigh said the new cabinet would be able to strengthen the country's economy despite the current global economic downturn.

The new leadership should be given the opportunity to bring changes, said Tengku Razaleigh, who once offered to contest the Umno presidency but could only manage one nomination -- from the Gua Musang Umno division. -- BERNAMA

Looking for answers in Batang Ai

By Baradan Kuppusamy

KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 — The defeat of the PKR in the April 7 Batang Ai by-election is a shock to many Sarawakian especially for the new generation of better educated, technologically savvy and upwardly mobile indigenous Dayaks who saw the contest as a battle between Dayak nationalism and "occupation" by a local Melanau elite allied with Umno in the Federal capital.

There is considerable recriminations and soul searching among educated Dayaks over why Batang Ai was lost, who should be held responsible and what the future holds for a change of regime in the resources-rich state which is also one of the poorest in the federation.

The blame game is rampant in Dayak-based blogs and websites and numerous reasons are being given for the defeat, from a shortage of funds and other resources to wrong choice of candidate in Jawah Gerang and money politics by Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud.

Some are also blaming the Iban voters for the defeat, pointing to their greed, materialism and folly for failing to see Dayakism as a new force and always staying with the Barisan Nasional to take the goodies dished out in return for their votes.

The Dayak predicament has parallels with the sorry situation of Indians in the Peninsular before the Nov 25, 2007 mass protest.

Like the Dayaks, they too were neglected, marginalised and politically alienated, leading to a build-up of a critical mass that sparked the revolt against the MIC/BN.

Like the Dayaks, Indians too supported the BN for decades and were rewarded for their political loyalty with the occasional trinkets.

But most of the rewards were pilfered by the MIC, leaving a new generation of Indian youths entering the job market without skills and competing with millions of foreign workers for low-paid jobs.

Their rising anger and frustration at their predicament created ideal conditions for a political revolt.

In Sarawak the conditions are far from ripe for a political revolt although Dayak intellectuals at a major conference recently in Miri believed conditions were ripe and a Dayak revolt was gathering ground and that the Batang Ai by-election was the spark.

The huge numbers that gathered for PKR dinners in major towns were read as clear signs that a revolt had started and that it would soon consume the rural Dayaks and provide a critical mass for political change.

Today the same intellectuals are deeply disappointed that the spark failed to light and are giving numerous reasons for the failure.

The fact is Batang Ai is remote, not easily accessible and the PKR methods of mobilisation using IT technology was worthless in a constituency that has few telephone lines and the vast majority are reachable only by boats.

It is remarkable that nearly all of the 200 Chinese voters in Lubuk Antu, the frontier cowboy town that services the interior, voted for PKR.

The only reason for this is that they had superior information and were motivated by the major changes in the political landscape happening in the country.

It was the same superior information that saw thousands of Chinese and urban Dayaks attending PKR dinners in the major towns of Sarawak in the months preceding the Batang Ai by-election, giving the impression a March 8-type groundswell was blowing.

In comparison the Dayaks in the interior were hapless and at the mercy of the only source of information available to them — radio and television — which was controlled by the BN.

A much touted plan by Sarawak PKR to get “educated and politically motivated” Dayak volunteers to combat the information deficiency by going to the interior and staying in the longhouses and campaigning daily did not materialise.

For some reason the laptop-carrying Dayak intellectuals stayed where they were and preferred to battle in cyberspace and not risk the river journeys, live in the longhouses and suffer great discomfort.

The BN also very cleverly manipulated the Ibans, saying PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should be rejected because he is an “outsider” and not a Sarawakian.

They explain the presence of BN leaders from Peninsular in the by-election campaign as “honoured guests” permitted to visit and bring presents for the Ibans, who form 90 per cent of the voters.

Besides, the PKR candidate Jawah, a five-term MP for Lubuk Antu, also had a difficult time explaining why the constituency he had represented for so long was so underdeveloped.

In the last four days of campaigning, a whole army of federal and Sarawak ministers descended on Batang Ai and dispensed “instant noodle” development aid like providing birth certificates, fuel, ICs and also “duit jalan” (pocket money).

“The rural Ibans are very honest and simple folks. They tend to respect all authoritative figures like government ministers,” said Sim Kwang Yang, former DAP MP for Kuching.

“To take the gifts and then vote for the opposition seems like an act of bad etiquette. Being trustful people, they are also gullible to all kinds of promises, election after election,” he said.

They are also mostly peasants working the land, the jungle and the rivers for sustenance and therefore are disconnected — both in their needs and world view — from the urban Dayak elite.

To them their immediate needs are paramount, not the promise of a paradise in the future.

The PKR’s defeat in Batang Ai is not a total loss unless the lessons are learnt — one of it is misreading dinner crowds as a Dayak revolt.

MALAYSIA NEW CABINET MINISTERS

The new ministers and deputy ministers will take their oath of office at Istana Negara at 9.30am Friday.

NEW CABINET LINE-UP:

NEW TEAM: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Prime Minister and Finance Minister 1: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

Deputy PM and Education Minister: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin

Ministers in Prime Minister’s Department
Unity and Performance Management: Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon
Law and Parliament: Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz
Religious Affairs: Brig. Gen. (Rtd) Datuk Jamil Khir Baharum
Economic Planning Unit: Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop

Deputies: Datuk Liew Vui Keong, Senator Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim, Datuk SK Devamany, Ahmad Maslan, Senator T. Murugiah

Finance
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Finance Minister II: Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah
Deputies: Datuk Chor Chee Heung, Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein

Education
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
Deputies: Datuk Wee Ka Siong, Datuk Puad Zarkashi

Transport
Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat
Deputies: Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri, Datuk Robert Lau

Home
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein
Deputies: Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop, Jelaing Mersat

Information, Communications, Arts and Culture
Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim
Deputies: Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum, Senator Heng Seai Kie

Energy, Green Technology & Water
Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui
Deputy: Noriah Kasnon

Plantation Industries and Commodities
Tan Sri Bernard Dompok
Deputy: Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin

Rural and Regional Development
Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal
Deputies: Datuk Hassan Malek, Datuk Joseph Entulu

Higher Education
Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin
Deputies: Dr Hou Kok Chung, Saifuddin Abdullah

International Trade and Industry
Datuk Mustapa Mohamed
Deputies: Datuk Muhkriz Mahathir, Datuk Jacob Dungau

Science, Technology and Innovation
Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili
Deputy: Fadillah Yusof

Natural Resources and Environment
Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas
Deputy: Tan Sri Joseph Kurup

Tourism
Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen
Deputy: Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib

Agriculture and Agro-based Industries
Datuk Noh Omar
Deputies: Johari Baharum, Rohani Abdul Karim

Defence
Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Deputy: Datuk Dr Abdul Latif

Works
Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor
Deputy: Datuk Yong Khoon Seng

Health
Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai
Deputy: Datuk Rosnah Rashid Shilin

Youth and Sports
Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek
Deputies: Datuk Razali Ibrahim, Wee Jeck Seng

Human Resources
Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam
Deputy: Datuk Maznah Mazlan

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri
Deputy: Datuk Tan Lian Hoe

Housing and Local Government
Datuk Kong Cho Ha
Deputy: Lajim Ukin

Women, Family and Community Development
Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil
Deputy: Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun

Foreign Affairs
Datuk Anifah Aman
Deputies: Datuk Lee Chee Leong, Senator A. Kohilan Pillai

Federal Territories
Datuk Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin
Deputy: Datuk M. Saravanan

So much effort by BN for so little gain

The result of the Bukit Gantang polls shows that the campaign the BN carried out before the by-election to discredit Nizar and brand him a traitor has indeed failed. This puts further pressure on the Sultan to defuse the crisis in his state by calling for new elections soon.


The Malaysian Insider
Thursday, 09 April 2009

The results of the triple by-elections that the Election Commission took so much trouble to put on the same day, and a weekday at that, and suitably after the dominant Umno had held what was expected to be a disruptive party election, failed to convince Malaysians that the winds of change were now blowing against the opposition.

The Batang Ai state seat in Sarawak was closely watched for signs of whether Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his allies had made any headway in persuading Malaysians in Sarawak to consider an alternative to the Barisan Nasional government. The increased margin that the BN attained seems to suggest that he has as yet not made any impression, at least among the hill Ibans.

To what extent he has gotten through to those living in the sprawling state’s urban and coastal areas has yet to be measured. The battle for votes in Sarawak is a protracted one, and the Batang Ai by-election has to be seen as a mere skirmish won by the defending forces.

The by-elections in Kedah and Perak, on the other hand, carry significantly more immediate import, mainly because these states constitute the frontline for the proverbial shooting war between the BN and Pakatan Rakyat.

Where Bukit Selambau is concerned, there was fear among PR supporters that the Indian vote might be badly split to the opposition’s disadvantage, and that the record number of contestants — 15 of them! — might tip the balance in favour of the BN, as had traditionally been the case.

Had this proven to be true, then some bad infighting within the PR was to be expected. If Hindraf, the Hindu rights organisation that played such a decisive role in the successes enjoyed by the opposition last year, had been hesitant in its support for Anwar, then one more weak point would have revealed in the PR’s position.

As things turned out, the Bukit Selambau loss suffered by the BN component party, the MIC, is most likely to be the final nail in its coffin.

Nowhere was the running battle between BN and PR more intense than in Perak. Not only was the Bukit Gantang seat a parliamentary one, unlike the other two, the opposition candidate was Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, the mentri besar who is being sidelined through BN-orchestrated defections.

The key role played by the Perak sovereign, Sultan Azlan Shah, in naming a new government to replaced the PR, had placed the PR in the difficult position of disobeying him without being disloyal to the monarch. The opposition feared that some rural Malay votes would be lost because of that.

The result of the Bukit Gantang polls shows that the campaign the BN carried out before the by-election to discredit Nizar and brand him a traitor has indeed failed. This puts further pressure on the Sultan to defuse the crisis in his state by calling for new elections soon.

Had either Bukit Selambau or Bukit Gantang been lost to the BN, there would have been some grounds for the Najib administration to contend that voters were growing disillusioned with the PR.

That would also have given the new premier reason to believe that his series of tactical moves was working, and that would have encouraged him and his advisors to stroll that path and lighten the reforming of Umno, the BN and Malaysian governance in general.

The bigger picture that emerges after April 7, 2009, is that the voter revolt that started in March the year before has not lessened in strength despite the concerted offensive by the BN.

Alongside aggressive actions such as the takeover of power in Perak through defections and the criminal charges levelled against Anwar and others in the opposition camp, the government’s offensive also involved softer tactical moves such as the release of 13 detainees held without trial under the Internal Security Act, including two Hindraf leaders; the lifting of a short-term ban put suspiciously recently on two opposition party newspapers; a comforting calling for “One Malaysia, People First, Performance Now”; and promises of institutional reforms.

The charm offensive included the return of former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad into Umno just in time for him to campaign in Bukit Gantang. The poll result suggests that that this tactic actually backfired, and the usefulness of Dr Mahathir may be limited, at least during elections.

What the BN can comfort itself with at this time is that Batang Ai was the first by-election it has won since the general election. Small comfort perhaps, especially when one compares with the increased margins with which the PR has won the other four by-elections carried out since that fateful day; but it is comfort that is rare at the moment.

An edited version of this article was published in TODAY Singapore.

The writer is Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. His latest book is "Arrested Reform: The Undoing of Abdullah Badawi" (Refsa 2009).

SNAP suspends deputy president

Tuesday April 7, 2009

KUCHING: The opposition Sarawak National Party (SNAP) has issued a showcause letter to its deputy president Ting Ling Kiew to explain why he should not be sacked for supporting Barisan Nasional in the Batang Ai by-election.

Pending his reply to the letter within 30 days, the party has suspended the membership of the former Bintulu MP.

The disciplinary decision was taken at the party’s emergency central executive committee meeting at the SNAP headquarters yesterday.

Party secretary-general Edmund Stanley Jugol said the meeting also unanimously decided to suspend central executive committee member Augustine Sating, also for supporting Barisan in the by-election.

Sating has also been issued with a similar showcause letter.

Jugol said the party leadership was embarrassed by the statement made by Ting to newspapers pledging support for Barisan during his meeting with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak last week. Party president Edwin Dundang urged party members to stand united behind its leadership.

SNAP deputy president faces the boot

By Raynore Mering

KUCHING: Sarawak National Party (SNAP) deputy president Ting Ling Kiew could be booted out of the party for staging what has been described as an attempt at a ‘coup-d-tat’ last week.

An emergency central executive committee meeting (CEC) was convened by president Edwin Dundang Bugak yesterday, where it was decided that show cause letters will be issued to Ting and SNAP Batang Ai chief, Augustine Sating.

The duo will have 30 days from yesterday to reply, fai-ling which they are deemed to have been expelled. But if they reply, the CEC will meet to decide whether to expel them from the party based on their replies.

In the meantime, Ting and Augustine have been suspended from the party.

SNAP secretary general, Edmund Stanley Jugol, said in a press statement after the meeting that the comments made by Ting in the newspapers on April 1, 2009, were “very irritating, embarrassing and putting the party into ridicule and disrepute”.

“Having analyzed and debated the sequence of events that led to (acts of commission) by Ting and his group of three, particularly in accordance to the statement published in The Borneo Post on April 1, 2009 it was unanimously decided that very stern disciplinary action will be taken as provided by Article 5 of the party’s constitution, which necessitates that Ting Ling Kiew be served with a show cause letter, effective today April 6, 2009…as to why he should not be expelled from the party.

“A similar disciplinary action is also taken against Augustine Sating for going against the party’s decision by supporting the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in the Batang Ai by-election,” said Stanley.

He said under the party’s constitution, Ting and Augustine would be suspended from the party until the CEC decides on their appeal if any. “The president wishes to take this opportunity to urge SNAP members to remain calm and united in supporting the CEC and the party leader-ship for having been able to defend the party from being taken by certain people unconstitutionally by staging a coup-d-tat,” he said.

On March 31, Ting flew to Putrajaya to meet the then deputy prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, to urge him to help save SNAP and to assure him of the party’s support for BN in the Batang Ai by-election.

Ting told The Borneo Post later that evening that during the 20-minute meeting, he communicated the wishes and hopes of the CEC members to the prime minister in-waiting and assured him of their support for the BN in the Batang Ai by-election. When asked what Najib, who was sworn in as the Prime Minister on Friday, said to him, Ting replied: “Datuk Seri said for him SNAP (situation) only the technical thing because of the Registrar of Societies.

“But for the BN record at the federal level, they never sacked SNAP and SNAP also never resigned from Barisan. So because of the court case, we are just hanging like this.”

SNAP was deregistered by ROS in 2001 following a leadership crisis and since then, it has battling the deregistration order in court, leaving the party in limbo.

He was accompanied on the visit by SNAP senior vice president Kebing Wan and a former BN leader, Datuk Salleh Jaffaruddin. Ting claimed to have the support of the majority of the 16 SNAP CEC members.

So far, those who have come out in the open with Ting were Kebing, SNAP treasurer general Larry Linang, and CEC member William Sirai. Augustine is also a CEC member.

Ting had also claimed that Dundang was unaware of his meeting Najib but he was not concerned, adding “we have the majority with us”.

He pointed out that Dundang has already committed himself to Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Reacting to Ting’s actions, Dundang said on Wednesday that it was an “act of betrayal”, adding: “It is the biggest joke for SNAP on April 1st and the joker is Ting himself,”

When asked yesterday why no action was taken against the other CEC members with Ting, Stanley said it was because Ting was responsible for the statements in the media while the rest were just following him.

It’s a betrayal: SNAP chief

By Mohamad Abdullah

MIRI: Sarawak National Party (SNAP) president Edwin Dundang Bugak yesterday hit back, slamming and decrying the recent action of deputy president Ting Ling Kiew and his group as an act of betrayal to the party.

ANOTHER CRISIS: Dundang showing the report in The Borneo Post of Ting’s purported backstabbing of him.

He said based on SNAP’s constitution only its secretary general — in this case, Stanley Jugol — and president have the power to call for the CEC meeting; not the deputy president.

“It’s the biggest joke for SNAP on April 1 (which is April Fool’s Day) and the joker is Ting Ling Kiew himself,” Dundang told The Borneo Post in an interview at his residence in Pujut 4 yesterday.

“I am sorry to say that Ting has misled the incoming prime minister,” Dundang said in response to The Borneo Post headline story, ‘New twist to SNAP drama’ yesterday.

He said it was pointless to bring SNAP as a party to the Minister of Home Affairs when the party’s appeal against deregistration is still with the court.

Dundang was referring to the deregistration of SNAP by the Registrar of Societies on Nov 5, 2002.

The latest development makes it seem that the party, which used to be a major force in the state’s political scene, is unable to rid itself of the protracted crisis.

SNAP has certainly failed to regain its past glory since giving birth to the now defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) in the 80s and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) at the turn of the millennium, both following irreparable leadership crises.

But yesterday, hardly cowed by what had happened in Putrajaya, Dundang said Ting and his group could leave SNAP and join Barisan Nasional (BN) individually any time they wished to.

“It’s a pity that the incoming prime minister is being fed lies on April Fool’s Day,” Dundang said, adding that Ting never called for a CEC meeting let alone got the 16 people for a sit-down as reported in the press yesterday.

According to Dundang, if there was such a meeting it was one that was attended by three people — Ting, senior vice-president Kebing Wan and one other person.

Dundang said he had in fact contacted most of the CEC members and all denied that they had attended any emergency meeting chaired by Ting.

“The way I see it, it is a fabrication by Ting for his own political agenda,” Dundang said, adding SNAP was still intact and that he (Dundang) still enjoyed the support of thirteen other CEC members.

Dundang went on to say that even though he was stunned by yesterday’s report he was not surprised by the leading player, Ting.

He said Ting was capable of such a move as he had always been the troublemaker in the party.

“For the record, he was sacked no less than twice from the party during the time of Datuk Amar James Wong Kim Min as president.

“SNAP only took him back at the 2003 AGM, believing that he had turned over a new leaf,” he said.

Tuesday’s development, he said, proved that the party was wrong about Ting as it was another act of backstabbing by the party’s No. 2 of his superior.

Dundang said by virtue of the democratic principle as practised by SNAP, Ting and his followers could leave the party any time.

Justifying SNAP’s position to work with the opposition, he said the party had been refused by BN since 2002 while PR had accorded it equal respect and recognition.

Dundang also called on SNAP members not to be confused and misled by the “recalcitrant group of three”.

On Tuesday, Ting and Kebing met Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, saying their action was driven by their love for the party and they would support BN’s candidate Malcom Mussen Lamoh in the Batang Ai by-election.

Ting also urged party members not to trust leaders who jumped like frogs and reject political opportunists.

He claimed that in their 20-minute meeting with Najib in Putrajaya, the deputy prime minister said the situation affecting SNAP was only a technical matter while the national BN had never expelled SNAP.

He also claimed that Najib had said the BN had not received any letter from SNAP of its wish to leave the government coalition.

Meanwhile, bloggers in Sarawak went into overdrive in their speculation of the latest twist in SNAP’s saga, with some even predicting that Najib, during his coming visit to Batang Ai soon, would announce acceptance of the party into BN’s fold.

Observers here said if that happened Dundang would be an embattled president.

SNAP to stay out of Batang Ai polls

By JACK WONG

KUCHING: Sarawak National Party (SNAP) will stay out the April 7 by-election in Batang Ai, its former stronghold.

President Edwin Dundang has confirmed that SNAP was unlikely to field a candidate in order to pave the way for Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) one-to-one fight with the Barisan Nasional.

"Let me be honest with our members and supporters that we (SNAP) have not made any preparations on the ground for the by-election," he added when asked on Thursday.

Dundang said he had discussed the by-election with the PKR leadership.

He said the party's veterans in Lubok Antu were backing PKR, which is expected to announce its candidate on Sunday. Lubok Antu parliamentary constituency comprises of Batang Ai and Engkilili state seats.

Dundang said SNAP had worked well with PKR and DAP as an opposition alliance in the 2006 state polls and last year's parliamentary election.

The by-election was called following the death of four-term assemblyman Datuk Dublin Unting Ingkot.

SNAP, which produced Sarawak's first Chief Minister in the late Tan Sri Stephen Kalong Ningkan, won Batang Ai in 1970 and 1974 on an opposition ticket.

Later, the party joined the state coalition government and retained the seat in 1979 and 1983.

However, SNAP-nominated Barisan Nasional candidate Nicholas Bawin lost the seat to Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak's (PBDS) Mikai Mandau by 83 votes in a three-cornered battle in 1987.

PBDS was formed by a breakaway Dayak elite group from SNAP during a leadership crisis in 1983.

Headed by president Datuk Leo Moggie, PBDS was accommodated in the state Barisan Nasional Plus government but the party opted out of the state coalition and became an opposition in 1987.

After victory, Mikai defected to Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) led by Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.But he failed to defend the seat for the Barisan Nasional when he was ousted by PBDS's Ingkot in 1991.

Later, PBDS rejoined the state coalition, and Ingkot managed to keep the seat in the 1996, 2001 and 2006 polls.

The state Barisan has agreed to field newcomer Malcolm Mussen Lamoh in the by-election. Lamoh is likely to face PKR's Bawin or former five-term Lubok Antu MP Jawah Gerang in the contest.

Umno, a law unto itself — The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 18 — Here’s the thing. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Take Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam’s status for instance. The Umno disciplinary panel found him unfit to contest the party elections but the party elders feel he is more than qualified to remain Melaka Chief Minister.

It makes you wonder at the double standards. He is not good enough to be a senior leader within the party because his agents breached campaign rules. But he is good enough to be chief executive of a state.

Veteran opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said as much in his Facebook status line this morning, “ WHAT?? Not fit to contest as Umno Deputy President but fit to continue as Malacca CM??”

For others, it smacks of a compromise to keep the popular Umno vice-president and his followers happy.

“This is a grand design, something like a bargain,” Datuk Kadar Shah Sulaiman said yesterday about the Umno action against Ali, adding the decision was made in fear that his supporters may walk out of the party.

Former party president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had no such compunction when he cut short Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s meteoric rise and challenge to him by sacking the deputy president in 1998 on corruption and sodomy charges.

Ali’s only consolation is that he is left with his party and government posts. And not further than that although the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has selectively investigated money politics within the dominant Malay nationalist party.

The bigger question is incoming Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s willingness to take on the Herculean task of cleaning Umno’s Stygian stables.

He has said as much to clean up Umno and Dr Mahathir has also put in his two sens’ worth but the disciplinary panel’s actions have shown to be just a sop to the baying calls to rid the party of corruption.

The action yesterday to bar Ali, warn Khairy Jamaluddin and clear Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo speak volumes about Najib’s ability to be an agent of change. Particularly his statement that Ali remains the Melaka chief minister.

It shows that he and others believe that Umno is a law unto itself, scripting its succession plans and leadership in a cabal rather than allowing democracy to flourish within the party and in the country.

Then again, Malaysia has had that since independence.

Dr M says Perak grab unlawful

The Malaysian Insider
By Shannon Teoh, Saturday March 14 2009

KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — More than a month after Barisan Nasional ousted Pakatan Rakyat from Perak, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said the takeover was not done according to the law.

He said mistakes, bad strategy and carelessness in the Feb 5 power grab, orchestrated by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had led to the current crisis in the state.

"You cannot topple a menteri besar or a prime minister without a no-confidence vote in the assembly. There is no other provision," he said at a function organised by Mubarak, the association for former elected representatives.

"Umno-BN was too careless and did not wait for an assembly but instead asked the Ruler to sack the menteri besar," he said, referring to Sultan Azlan Shah's decision to ask Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin to resign.

"As far as I know, there is no such provision in the Perak or Federal Constitution," he said.

Dr Mahathir said that BN should have done it properly and not "be in conflict with the law" as the courts may now rule that the Sultan has no right to sack a menteri besar.

He added that a Sultan could only reject a candidate for one of his choice after an election but even this candidate could be defeated in the assembly by a vote.

The veteran politician said BN should have "followed the laws of the country, especially the constitution."

"Because this may be in conflict with the law, we find that people will not comply. Because we started on the wrong foot, people are now against us," said Dr Mahathir, who quit Umno last year in a long-running feud with his successor Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The Perak power grab is now mired in a series of lawsuits, with both sides claiming to be the legitimate government.

Six people have also been charged with insulting the Perak Ruler after he backed BN to govern the state. One has pleaded guilty and was fined RM10,000 yesterday while five others claimed trial.

Umno has said those who opposed the Sultan's decision are committing treason.

SNAP president robbed at knife-point

MIRI, March 2 – Two men armed with knives today robbed Sarawak National Party (SNAP) president Edwin Dundang of a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) and mobile phone here.

Dundang, 69, was talking to a reporter on his phone while seated inside his son-in-law’s parked Naza Ria at a road shoulder near Saint Columba’s Kindergarten when the hold-up occurred at 2.25pm.

At the time, he was waiting to pick up his granddaughter from the kindergarten.

While in the midst of talking to the reporter, Dundang heard someone warn him that if he did not alight from the vehicle, he would be killed.

“Fearing for my life, I just got out of the MPV and was confronted by two men. They took away my handphone before escaping in the vehicle,” he added.

Dundang said that despite signalling passing motorists, no one stopped to help.

Eventually, a woman who was fetching her child from the kindergarten, sent him to the central police headquarters to lodge a report.

Dundang was elected SNAP president in May 2003 to succeed Sarawak’s veteran politician Datuk Amar James Wong who helmed the party for 22 years. – Bernama

Sultan has no powers to ask Nizar to quit

by NH Chan
Malaysiakini
20.2.09

According to the Perak constitution, the ruler has a personal discretion in the performance of two functions - the appointment of a menteri besar and the withholding of consent to a request for the dissolution of the legislative assembly.

On Feb 4, Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin, the mentri besar, was granted an audience by the sultan to request for the ruler’s consent to dissolve the Perak State Assembly.

The next day, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak also requested for an audience with the sultan as the Perak BN chief and consent was granted for him to present himself before the ruler.

This is the account given in the Star, Feb 6:

“The four-page statement, signed by the sultan’s private secretary, Col Abdul Rahim Mohamad Nor, was issued at 2.15pm, Feb 5.

“It said Mohd Nizar had an audience with the sultan yesterday to seek the ruler’s consent to dissolve the state assembly. Earlier in the day, Najib, who is Perak Barisan chairman, had an audience with the sultan twice.

“At the audience in the morning, he informed the ruler that BN and its supporters now had the majority in the state assembly. The statement said the sultan had summoned all the 31 assemblymen before him to verify the information.

“‘His Royal Highness had used his discretion under Article XWI (2)(b) of the Perak Darul Ridzuan State Constitution and did not consent to the dissolution of the Perak State Assembly,’ the statement added.”

Bernama later reported that Mohd Nizar was summoned to an audience to be informed of the sultan’s decision not to dissolve the state government.

Now what is wrong with that?

It is wrong because the sultan saw Najib without Mohd Nizar being present. Let me explain why it is improper for him to do that.

A fatal error

As a former Lord President, who was then the highest judge in the country, the sultan should know that it is improper to see an interested party alone without the other side being present before announcing his decision.

It was only after the ruler had seen Najib that he summoned Nizar to inform him that he had decided not to dissolve the legislative assembly.

That was his undoing. It was a fatal error. This is not a case of natural justice where both sides have a right to be heard. There was no hearing.

This was a request by a menteri besar to his sultan to dissolve the legislative assembly where, by the very fact of the application itself, he has admitted that he no longer commands the confidence of the majority in the assembly.

In other words, it is a request under Article XVI, Clause (6) of the Perak constitution. To such a request, the ruler has a personal discretion not to grant it under Article XVIII, Clause (2) (b).

The personal discretion to grant or not to grant must be exercised without any suggestion or suspicion to any reasonable outsider that he was partial to one political party or coalition of parties.

In other words, it is about the appearance of impartiality - justice should not only be done, but should be seen to be done.

And in the present context, what is the right thing to do?

Every judge, unless he is a bad judge, knows that the right thing to do is to apply the oft-repeated saying of Lord Chief Justice Hewart in R v. Sussex Justices, ex parte McCarthy: “It is not merely of some importance, but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done”.

As Lord Denning would have put it in Metropolitan Properties Co (FGC) Ltd v. Lannon [I9691 1 Q.B. 577: “The court will not inquire whether he did in fact, favour one side unfairly. Suffice in that reasonable people might think he did. The reason is plain enough. Justice must be rooted in confidence: and confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking: ‘The judge was biased’.”

When perception matters most

Now we know why the people of Perak and elsewhere in Malaysia, are making harsh statements about the sultan. A quick search on the Internet will prove this.

It is the perception of the people that matters; and the confidence of the people is destroyed when they go away thinking that he was biased - that he had been influenced by Najib.

It is very sad that Sultan Azlan Shah, who had been held in high esteem internationally and by the populace, has, in a careless moment, lost all that.

His reputation for fairness and justice has been shattered when they go away thinking that he had been influenced by Najib or that he has favoured BN. It does not matter whether he did, in fact, favour one side unfairly.

Suffice it that reasonable people might think that he did. The die is cast and we cannot put the clock back. Hereafter, there may be many who will no longer believe in his speeches on good governance and the integrity of the judiciary.

The impression is that he does not practise what he preaches.

When the menteri besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the legislative assembly, he has two choices.

First, he may request the ruler to dissolve the assembly for the purpose of a state election. Second, if his request is turned down by the ruler, “he shall tender the resignation of the executive council”.

This is provided in Article XVI, Clause (6) which reads: “(6) if the Menteri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members 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.”

What Article XVI, Clause (6) says is this: If the menteri besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the legislative assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the executive council, unless the ruler has, at the request of the menteri besar, dissolved the legislative assembly.

However, in the present case, Mohd Nizar on Feb 4, had requested the ruler to dissolve the legislative assembly, and the ruler informed him on Feb 5 that he acted in his discretion to withhold his consent for the dissolution of the assembly.

That being the case, the menteri besar has no other choice but to tender the resignation of the executive council.

Cannot declare MB post vacant

Under Article XWI, Clause (2), paragraph (b), the ruler has a personal discretion to withhold his consent to the menteri besar’s request for the dissolution of the legislative assembly.

Unfortunately, the ruler, in the present case, has acted unconstitutionally when he side stepped the constitutional provisions of Article XVI, Clause (6) of the laws of the Perak constitution.

This was what he did.

The Sultan of Perak’s media statement said: “Mohd Nizar was summoned to an audience with the sultan to be informed of the ruler’s decision not to dissolve the State Assembly, and in accordance with the provisions of Article XVI (6) of the Perak Darul Ridzuan State Constitution, the Sultan of Perak ordered Mohd Nizar to resign from his post as Perak menteri besar together with the members of the state executive council with immediate effect.

“If Mohd Nizar does not resign from his post as Perak menteri besar together with the state executive council members, then the posts of menteri besar and state executive councillors are regarded as vacant.”

As we know the sultan is a constitutional monarch who has no power to rule except a couple of discretionary powers mentioned in Article XVIII, Clause (2).

So, apart from the couple of matters mentioned in Article XVIII, Clause (2), the Sultan of Perak has no power to order Mohd Nizar to resign from his post as Perak menteri besar together with the members of the state executive council with immediate effect.

Nor has he the power to declare that the posts of menteri besar and state executive councillors are regarded as vacant.

In the present case, the menteri besar had acted under Article XVI, Clause (6) which permitted him to request the ruler to dissolve the legislative assembly if he ceased to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the legislative assembly.

In this case, the ruler turned down his request. Then the menteri besar has no choice but “to tender the resignation of the executive council”.

So, why did the ruler, in the present case, depart from the provisions of Article XVI, Clause (6)?

Under the provisions of Clause (6), the sultan knew that the ball was in the menteri besar’s court and it was to be the menteri besar who “should tender the resignation of the executive council”.

Yet he chose to ignore these provisions of the Perak constitution.

A pretended show of power

The ruler has defied the provisions of Article XVI, Clause (6) when he resorted to ordering the menteri besar to resign from his post when he has no power to do so.

The sultan knew, or he ought to have known, that under Article XWI, Clause (2) (a) the menteri besar is appointed by the sultan from the members of the legislative assembly “who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly”.

This is what Article XVI, Clause (2) says: “(2) The Executive Council shall be appointed as follows, that is to say - (a) His Royal Highness shall first appoint as menteri besar to preside over the Executive Council a member of the Legislative Assembly who in his judgement is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly.”

So that when the menteri besar ceased “to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the legislative assembly”, and this is borne out by his request to the ruler for dissolution of the assembly under Article XVI, Clause (6), the ruler has the power to appoint another “who in his judgement is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly” under Article XVI, Clause (2) (a).

It is a personal discretion of the ruler to act on the appointment of a menteri besar. Since the ruler has the power to appoint another person as menteri besar in place of Mohd Nizar based on his judgement, there is, therefore, no need to order him to resign at all.

This is no more than a pretended show of power when, in fact, there is no such power.

And if the menteri besar delays the tender of the resignation of the executive council as required by Article XVI, Clause (6), there is Clause (7) which provides: “(7) Subject to Clause (6) a member of the Executive Council other than the menteri besar shall hold office at His Royal Highness’ pleasure, but any member of the Council may at any time resign his office.”

This means that the ruler can sack any member of the executive council or all of them at any time.

In his book, ‘What Next in the Law’, the late Lord Denning wrote: “King James II was a bad king. It was he who favoured the Roman Catholics and was bitterly opposed to the Protestants. It was he who dismissed the judges.

“It was he who sent Judge Jeffreys on that Bloody Assize. It was he who directed that the Seven Bishops should be prosecuted for seditious libel - when all they had done was to present a petition to the king himself. It was the acquittal of the Seven Bishops that forced the King to flee the realm.”

It was a young barrister called John Somers who drew up a Declaration of Rights. Although very junior at the Bar, he had made a short speech of five minutes which led to the acquittal of the Seven Bishops. Immediately after that trial, he was entrusted with the task of preparing a Declaration of Rights - to which the new King William assented.

This Declaration became the Bill of Rights 1689. It is not easy to lay your hand on any book which contains the full text of this great document. I will set out here a few of the principle clauses (for the present purpose I will only refer to clauses 1 and 2):

‘The Lords and Commons…

I … (as their ancestors in like case have usually done) for the vindicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties, declare:

1. That the pretended power of suspending laws, or the execution of by regal authority, without consent of parliament, is illegal.

2. That the pretended power of dispensing with laws, or the execution of laws, by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal.

II … That William and Mary prince and princess of Orange be, and be declared, King and Queen of England…’

UK’s Bill of Rights

Macaulay, in his ‘History of England’ (Volume III) described the importance of the Bill of Rights in these words: “The Declaration of Right, though it made nothing law which had not been law before, contained the germ … of every good law which has been passed … of every good law which may hereafter, in the course of ages, be found necessary to promote the public weal, and to satisfy the demands of public opinion.”

If we are to have a new Bill of Rights, will it too be the germ of the law which, in the complexities of modern society, maintain the rights and freedoms of the individual against the all-powerful bodies that stride about the place?

I shall now return to the subject matter of this article.

I have borrowed the title of it from the second clause of the Declaration of Rights as drafted by the young barrister John Somers. Clause 2 reads:

“That the pretended power of dispensing with laws, or the execution of laws, by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal.”

The above quotation should serve as a fitting reminder that the laws of the land, more so the Perak constitution, should not be sidestepped by the ruler or, to quote from Lord Denning, by “the all-powerful bodies that stride about the place”.

If anyone thinks that he can dispense with the law for the execution of it, then this clause should remind them that the power to do so is only a pretended power. Article XVI, Clause (6) is what we are talking about here - the menteri besar should be allowed to tender the resignation of the Executive Council in due course of time without being hurried by regal authority exercising a pretended power.

The laws of the Perak constitution should be administered even-handedly and not unequally by giving the impression to the general public that preferential treatment was shown to some persons.

It is the appearance of impartiality that matters. It does not matter whether he did, in fact, favour one side unfairly. Suffice it that reasonable people might think that he did.

Substitute the phrase “by regal authority” for the phrase “by those in power” and we have an axiomatic rendering which applies to today’s modern society.

The executive branch of any government, be it federal, state or local, cannot ignore the people’s call for justice and fair play which throughout the ages have been “found necessary to promote the public weal, and to satisfy the demands of public opinion”.

The call of public opinion is a call to maintain “the rights and freedoms of the individual against the all-powerful bodies that stride about the place”. The executive branch of any government can ignore the voice of public opinion at its peril.

Unwillingness to heed the demands of public opinion can lose the mandate of the populace in the next election.

I think the writing is already on the wall. The demands of public opinion is a universal one. If the old order has been found wanting, it must give way to the new.

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NH CHAN, who is former Court of Appeal judge, lives in Ipoh.