Attorney-General Idrus Harun, resign now!

 

Attorney-General Idrus Harun’s statement that any motion of confidence on the prime minister would be deemed an unacceptable challenge to the Agong’s absolute power to appoint a prime minister is a heretical interpretation of the Federal Constitution, for which he must resign forthwith.

In the first instance, the Agong’s power to appoint a prime minister is not as absolute as Idrus thinks.

That power comes with the constraint that the appointee must be someone who in the “Agong’s judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House.” – Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution.

Agong’s discretion is qualified

So, the Agong’s discretion is a qualified discretion. He cannot appoint anyone he likes, but the one who the Agong appoints must be someone who is “likely” to command the support of the majority in Parliament.

The second important fact is that our Constitution dictates the prime minister must tender the resignation of his cabinet when “he ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the House of Representatives, unless, at his request, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament”. – Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution.

But how do you ascertain the prime minister’s majority if not through a confidence vote in the same House?

So, is it any wonder that a confidence motion is in fact the standard operating procedure adopted by all countries practicing parliamentary democracy to measure the parliamentary support enjoyed by the prime minister?

And Malaysia is no exception. In this connection, we take pride in recalling how our revered third prime minister Hussein Onn demonstrated respect for the democratic spirit of the Constitution.

He initiated a vote of confidence on himself in Parliament when he unexpectedly took over from his predecessor Abdul Razak Hussein due to the latter’s sudden demise in 1976.

There was not even the slightest murmur then that such a motion could be construed as a sign of disrespect to the Agong’s authority to make the appointment.

On the contrary, there was only admiration for the humility and high respect for the Constitution manifested by the gentlemanly democrat.

Confidence vote is a must now

And that was during when the ruling BN coalition enjoyed an overwhelming majority. If it was deemed good practice then, shouldn’t it be considered an absolute necessity now when Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed with only a razor-thin majority?

This is especially so when since the Sheraton Coup 17 months ago, the nation has entered an unprecedented phase where no single party or group of parties enjoy a clear majority.

Since then, the prime minister had been ruling as if a Sword of Damocles was constantly hanging over his head with no one including the PM himself knowing for sure whether he had the support of the majority of MPs.

This uncertainty is further compounded by a recent phenomenon of frequent party hopping by elected representatives due either to material inducement and/or unlawful coercion.

In fact, it was in recognition of this fact that the Agong wisely decreed earlier that whoever appointed by him to the premiership must immediately submit himself to a confidence vote to confirm he had indeed the mandatory majority to rule.

So, how could Idrus turn around now to condemn a confidence vote as an affront against the Agong’s authority and a transgression against the Federal Constitution? Isn’t he making the absurd assertion that the Agong was making a self-inflicting decree against himself?

How ridiculously far-fetched must Idrus go to serve an apparent partisan political motive to shield the prime minister from a test of his majority?

Hasn’t he done enough damage to the nation’s constitutional rule when it was asserted that the emergency ordinances were cancelled (to avoid the issue being presented in Parliament for voting) when in fact the PM’s such advice was not even assented to by the Agong and gazetted as law?

As chief legal adviser to the Agong and the government, Idrus’ repeated betrayal of the Constitution has posed an unacceptable risk to the democratic function of the state and he must resign forthwith. - Mkini

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KIM QUEK is the author of the banned book "The March to Putrajaya", and best-seller "Where to, Malaysia?".

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.