‘SULTAN MUST APPOINT AZIZAH BASED ON 1992 DEAL’

(Malaysiakini) – Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has to consent to the appointment of Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the menteri besar because he is bound by a document signed in 1992 by his father, the then Selangor sultan.

Constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari said today the Declaration of Constitutional Principles, signed by six sultans, agrees that rulers will follow government advice, among other things.

This means, Aziz said, the current sultan “may not” be able to insist on more names to be submitted as candidates for Selangor menteri besar.

“The content binds the rulers until today. It has no legal effect by the document itself but morally, it would be embarrassing for the rulers to ignore it,” he said.

“So, in Selangor, the sultan has to appoint (Wan Azizah). Asking for more names, let alone refusing to appoint her, will go against the 1992 declaration and more importantly, the constitution itself.”