IT’S NOT ABOUT KHALID IBRAHIM ANY MORE

Oh, and if you do not like HRH the Sultan’s choice of new Menteri Besar, you can, yet again, pass a vote of no confidence against this new Menteri Besar. And you can keep doing this every few months until the next GE in 2018 or so, one ousted Menteri Besar after another.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The debate is still raging as to whether Khalid Ibrahim is still legally (or morally) the Menteri Besar of Selangor.

Some same legally ‘yes’ but morally ‘no’. Some say both legally and morally ‘no’. Some say even if he no longer commands the majority in the Selangor state assembly he must be legally or constitutionally removed. And that would be through a vote of no confidence against him in the Selangor state assembly.

Some even quote the Perak Crisis of five years ago as the precedence in which to remove Khalid, while at the same time saying that the way Nizar Jamaluddin, the Perak Menteri Besar, and Pakatan Rakyat, were removed is wrong, even if the court upheld HRH the Sultan of Perak’s decision. After all, say these critics, the court will do what it is told (by the Barisan Nasional government, that is). Hence we cannot trust the court.

This means what happened in Perak is wrong but doing in Selangor what they did in Perak is right.

Different lawyers and legal/constitutional experts have different opinions. That is how lawyers make money — by arguing these differences of opinions in court. If the law is clear then no need to go to court. Only when it is ambiguous and is not clear do we need to go to court and make lawyers rich.

For example, the Constitution says that the Agong shall take the advice of the Prime Minister (or the state rulers shall take the advice of the Menteri Besar).

‘Shall’ here, since the 17th century, means ‘must’, ‘be obliged to’, ‘will’, ‘should’, etc. Hence if the Menteri Besar offers the Sultan any advice then the Sultan has to listen to this advice. Can the Sultan ignore the Menteri Besar’s advice? I am sure all those legal brains I mentioned above will argue that the Sultan has no choice in the matter. He must listen to the Menteri Besar.

So, what did Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim advice HRH the Sultan of Selangor on Monday? We all know the answer to that question. Khalid advised the Sultan that he still has the majority confidence of the House. So, acting on this advice, the Sultan told Khalid to stay on until further developments.

And further developments would be until a vote of no confidence is passed against the Menteri Besar in the state assembly. If HRH the Sultan acts any other way, HRH would be accused of doing a Perak on Selangor. And we do not what that, do we? We hate what happened in Perak so we will also hate the same thing done to Selangor.

Anyway, the issue is not just about whether Khalid should go or should stay. Let the legal eagles or the Selangor state assembly sort that one out. HRH the Sultan will just have to follow the advice of the Menteri Besar on that one and if he has been voted out then it is Khalid’s duty to advice HRH the Sultan so.

More importantly, what needs to now be resolved is, even if Khalid is voted out, who shall be the person replacing him? (Or will Khalid advice HRH the Sultan to dissolve the state assembly — since he has been voted out — to make way for fresh state elections?)

Even if the state assembly is not going to be dissolved and Khalid steps down, the Sultan still has to agree to his successor. PKR and DAP want Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. PAS does not. So can PKR, DAP and PAS agree on the successor?

Currently they cannot. And this is the main issue. So PKR, DAP and PAS, even if they come to a consensus that Khalid must go, must also come to a consensus regarding his successor.

The third issue would be, even if they can come to a consensus regarding Khalid’s successor, would HRH the Sultan agree to this person?

Now, that is the prerogative of HRH the Sultan. The Sultan may be forced to accept the decision of the state assembly and the result of the no confidence vote. But HRH the Sultan does not need to agree to the name of the person who will be replacing Khalid.

So Pakatan Rakyat needs to get its act together. Don’t later blame the Sultan because you cannot come to a consensus or agree to Khalid’s successor. And if HRH the Sultan asks for three names you had better get the three names ready.

And if you fail to do this and if HRH the Sultan appoints a new Menteri Besar (other than Dr Wan Azizah) “who in HRH’s judgement can most likely command the confidence of the majority in the House”, HRH the Sultan will just be following what the law allows him to do.

Oh, and if you do not like HRH the Sultan’s choice of new Menteri Besar, you can, yet again, pass a vote of no confidence against this new Menteri Besar. And you can keep doing this every few months until the next GE in 2018 or so, one ousted Menteri Besar after another.