Constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari has one thing to remind Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia – and that is that the oath of secrecy is meant to protect legitimate and legal affairs.
“(The oath of secrecy is) not to protect wrongdoing,” said Abdul Aziz in a statement to Malaysiakini.
This, he pointed out, is because the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal had broken many of the country’s laws.
“In any case just let the law take its course if Pandikar is really serious about it.”
Aziz’s remarks were in response to Pandikar who said that former cabinet members Muhyiddin Yassin and Husni Hanadzlah may have broken their oaths of secrecy when they touched on 1MDB in their speeches in Parliament.
Pandikar said that the cabinet’s decision had not been carried out and that it was secret cabinet information.
But Aziz believes that this is just another example of Pandikar using his powers to “suppress and save the sitting government” instead of using his position to “facilitate democracy and accountability”.
“That is wrong from the point of view of the Constitution,” added Aziz.
Pandikar, he added, had done the same when he prevented a motion of confidence against the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak-led government raised in the House and had also made the questioning of 1MDB impossible in Parliament.
“Those two processes are allowed by the Constitution. In fact these are the two pillars upon which a cabinet government rest in parliamentary democracy.
“The two fundamentals are more important than his so-called absolute powers. The correct way of looking at his power is by reconciling his powers in light of the two major constitutional processes.” -Mkini
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