Najib puts the cart before the horse

YOURSAY 'The PM has not only done away with both the customs and conventions of the constitution, but the written and fundamentally embedded law of the land.'

A constitutional blunder by Najib

Cala: No doubt Tommy Thomas's article has put PM Najib Razak in a quandary. Najib is in a dilemma: Will he rectify the situation by making the "illegally appointed ministers and deputy ministers" senators, and then to be sworn in the Senate, and in the process lose his face?

Or will he do nothing believing that as prime minister he can override the constitutional provision?

If the opposition is weak, legality or otherwise is a matter of interpretation of the powers-that-be in a Third World state where the judiciary is also dysfunctional.

What is the way forward? The ‘collective action' of the people, exercises through Pakatan Rakyat goes a long way to ensure that the powers-that-be will not run "randy" but respect the constitution.

Anonymous #68219004: I can see we are already a failed state. No wonder, young educated and well-informed Malaysians are the catalyst in crying out for change against an unjust, corrupt and tainted administration ... our day will come, soon.

Bystander: Tommy Thomas, why are so surprised that Umno is putting the cart before the horse?

I am not, notwithstanding that it is unconstitutional to appoint ministers or deputy ministers before being made senators, there are so many instances of lawlessness being demonstrated and laws that were being interpreted at their whims and fancies all these years.

This is Malaysia Boleh, my friend, and they will say if you are not happy with it then please feel free to migrate to countries that subscribe to and respect their constitution.

Anonymous #85701391: Okay, point taken. To us, loyalty has always been to king and country, never to the government of the day.

Unfortunately, it is a norm amongst Umno Baru leaders, the laws of the country are interpreted according to their needs and wants, strongly supported by their obedient servants - the attorney-general (AG) and now the new inspector-general of police (IGP).

Cogito Ergo Sum: The PM has not only done away with both the customs and conventions of the constitution, but the written and fundamentally embedded law of the land.

If ministers, appointed to look into the welfare of the people, utter an untruth as their first official act (by saying they were sworn as senators) then reason has vanished at the highest level of this country.

The constitution was framed to prevent tyranny, not perpetuate it. With this breach, the last check and balance, that is, the basic compliance with the written law by a elected government has not been adhered to, we can conclude that we no longer need a federal constitution. A BN do and don'ts will do.

Boiling Mud: How legal can it be with anything done by this government since the run-up to and after GE13?

If the four suspects allegedly responsible for murdering N Dharmendran can be reassigned to desk jobs instead of being arrested to assist police investigation, appointing non-elected persons as ministers to the cabinet is but a small matter in this banana patch.

This is a gross disregard for the existing constitutions and laws. It is criminal.

Harapanbaru: A mere technicality, as Najib would aver, shrugging off the whole affair as more opposition nitpicking.

However, it's an aggregation of "mere technicalities" that ultimately determine whether something is legitimate or illegitimate.

Whether a structure is sound and can withstand inclement weather depends entirely on "mere technicalities" being rigorously adhered to. The house of cards that BN built is bound to collapse with the next big storm.

Slumdog: We often hear ministers, head of government agencies and other Umno flunkies constantly reminding the rakyat about upholding the constitution and the rule of law and here we have the prime minister himself breaching the constitution.

Najib, in true fashion, will remain silent and ignore this major constitutional blunder. It will fade away into the sunset and no amount of public or opposition protest or outcry will right the wrong.

SusahKes: How concerned should we be? Very much, I'm afraid. When the chief executive of the nation blunders in these things, Najib continues to lend credence to the notion that he is inefficient in matters of governance.

Our ire is compounded by the fact that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has hundreds, if not thousands, of employees, with a budget running into billions of ringgit. And yet no one was able to point out the obvious to Najib?

Where is the AG? The law minister? Where are the constitutional "experts" - Perkasa and ex-judge Mohd Noor Abdullah?

What is equally cringing was ex-PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad'sassertion that Umno does not have anyone better than Najib to be PM - this too, lends credence that Umno was never really interested in producing leaders; they just wanted 'approved' gatekeepers who could facilitate their hunger for contracts and positions and hummers.

And that is why today, Umno is left with a minority government - the rakyat simply are loathe to experience another round of inefficient leadership courtesy of Umno and Co.

Treeman: When former Umno leaders Daim Zainuddin and Zainuddin Maidin stated that Najib's advisers should be sacked, perhaps they meant not only his election strategy advisers but others from the civil service as well.

All said and done, even most educated Malaysians know the basis of what Tommy Thomas has written. Najib, having been in the cabinet for decades would surely have known that, too. Let's see how they shamefully remedy the situation.

Jean Pierre: More than a blunder, it is more of a willful transgression of the constitution. More to come? - Malaysiakini