Political analysts see the move by the opposition-held Selangor government to amend the state constitution over the appointment of the three top civil servants as an attempt to retain power and garner the support of the Malays.
They say it reflects desperation on the part of the PKR-DAP-PAS pact, which administers the state, to ensure the survival and relevance of the three political parties.
The Selangor government has called for a special sitting of the state legislative assembly on Monday to amend the state constitution to "return to the sultan and the state" the power to appoint the state secretary, the state legal advisor and the state financial officer.
The special sitting comes in the wake of the state government's disagreement over the appointment of Datuk Mohamed Khusrin Munawi, 54, as the Selangor state secretary effective Jan 1 by the Public Service Commission, allegedly without prior consultation with Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
Some of the analysts questioned the need to call the special sitting of the assembly when the Selangor government did not have the required two-third majority to approve an amendment to the constitution. The PKR-DAP-PAS pact has only 35 seats in the 56-seat assembly. It needs 37 votes for a two-third majority. The Barisan Nasional (BN) has 20 seats in the assembly and one assemblyman is an independent.
They wondered how the state government would obtain the two more votes necessary to approve the amendment.
The analysts Bernama talked to claimed that the Selangor government's refusal to recognise the appointment of Mohamed Khusrin had been politicised.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) political science lecturer Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said: "The state government wants to go ahead with the special sitting knowing well that it will not get the required two-third majority.
"The question now is whether the special sitting would have been summoned if Mohamed Khusrin had not been appointed the state secretary. What will happen if the sitting does not obtain the two-third majority? If the state government prepared to accept this fact?" He said that if the BN assemblymen arrived at a collective decision not to support the amendment, it would be impossible for the state government to get the required two-third majority.
Sivamurugan said the move to amend the state constitution was also seen as an attempt to trap the BN, which has all along defended the institution of the monarchy.
"Although it is said that the amendment is to return power to the sultan, it is actually to enhance the authority of the menteri besar. It may seem like the amendment is aimed at defending the institution of the monarchy," he said.
Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussein of USM's Centre for Social Sciences said the move to convene a special sitting of the assembly was "a political ruse to trap the BN which has all along defended the institution of the monarchy".
He said the Selangor government could possibly use the abstention of the BN assemblymen in the matter to claim that the BN did not defend the institution of the monarchy because it did not support the amendment to restore power to the sultan.
He said the move to convene the special sitting of the assembly was an opposition ploy to "drag the institution of the monarchy into politics".
"I think, it is purely to consolidate the power of the state government in Selangor. I feel it is unnecessary to change the procedure for the appointment of the state secretary," he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Government Pensioners Association President Datuk Paduka Raja Wan Mahmood Pawan Teh said the appointment of a civil servant should not be politicised because a civil servant has to discharge his responsibilities without being political.
"Every civil servant will carry out their tasks without getting involved in politics," he said.
-- BERNAMA
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