King extra cautious before deciding

 

Istana Negara. -Bernamapic

PETALING JAYA: The King’s move to hold an audience with 114 MPs is part of the process of “making a judgement” under the Federal Constitution before he appoints a new Prime Minister, says constitutional expert Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi.

He said that as the Constitution is silent on the process of forming a judgement on who is most likely to command the majority of the members of the Dewan Rakyat, the King is free to use any method he sees fit before he appoints the ninth Prime Minister.

Shad Saleem also stated that although the King had first requested statutory declarations from all 220 MPs of the House, he decided to go a step further and verify the ones who gave the majority votes to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as that is the group that counts.

“Under Article 43(2)(A), it is stated that the King is to appoint the Prime Minister who ‘in his judgement is likely to command the majority of the members of the House’.

“The King has, from June, tried to convene the House but questions remain if the House convenes, will all 220 MPs be present physically and if it is a hybrid sitting, can all vote?” asked Shad Saleem.

He further pointed out that Standing Orders of the House stated that votes can only be counted if the MP is present physically in the Dewan Rakyat.

“The King therefore now has problems in summoning the House as he has no powers to do so as many agree that Article 55 which talks about the King being able to summon the House can only be done upon the advice of the Prime Minister.

Urgency of the matter: Caretaker PM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin arriving at Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur for the King to meet the MPs.

“Then, it is not in his personal power to dictate the House as the agenda of the House is set by the Prime Minister under Standing Orders 11(3).

“Therefore, the actions taken by the King before he appoints the next Prime Minister is the action of being extra cautious, but working within the Federal Constitution,” said Shad Saleem.

He also said, nevertheless, the King may be able to lay some conditions before he appoints a Prime Minister as there are precedents for this in the appointment of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser in 1975 by Governor-General Sir John Kerr after the dismissal of Gough Whitlam as prime minister.

“Kerr then put two conditions – one, was to get the Budget passed and two, was to hold a general election. Fraser did so after he was appointed and his Liberal Party won the elections,” said Shad Saleem.

He also said should a motion of confidence be tabled in the Parliament, Malaysia could see a similar situation as in India in 1969 being played out, given the situation of Umno being divided earlier due to internal party conflicts.

This is because the current candidate most likely to be the next Prime Minister is Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, who is only a vice-president of Umno, unlike the convention of Umno presidents being the nominee.

“In 1969, Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister but not the leader of the ruling Congress Party. She faced problems with the party stalwarts and she was expelled from her own party.

“The party then moved a motion of no confidence against her as the Prime Minister in the Parliament. However, she managed to gain the majority of the members of the House and she remained the Prime Minister,” said Shad Saleem.

Another constitutional expert Prof Datuk Dr Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz said the action of the King only holding an audience with the group that has given the majority to the next prime minister candidate is a form of saying the SDs are considered good enough.

“His Majesty, however, wanted to ensure that the SDs were made willingly,” said Shamrahayu.

“Meeting with the Malay Rulers in a special meeting is not a constitutional requirement but His Majesty probably wants to make the appointment of the next Prime Minister acceptable to the Rulers.”

The King met 114 MPs from Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Perikatan Nasional parties of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, PAS and STAR yesterday after receiving SDs on Aug 18 stating their preferred choice of candidate for the next Prime Minister.

The King will be meeting the Malay Rulers in a special meeting today, believed to be over the same matter.

Meanwhile, two other political analysts, International Islamic University’s Prof Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod and Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia cautioned that a lot could still happen between now and Sept 6 when Parliament reconvenes.

The newly appointed Prime Minister would then have to survive a motion of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat.

Both analysts opined that a defeat in the confidence motion of the new Prime Minister could result in further political deadlock.

In such a situation, both said that the King could take the drastic step of calling for the formation of a National Operations Council to manage the nation, pending dissolution of Parliament for the next general election to be held. - Star