ROYAL STANDOFF ESCALATES: NO NEED FOR COUNCIL OF RULERS, DEPUTY AGONG SULTAN NAZRIN CAN STEP IN IF AGONG CANNOT ENDORSE GOVT’S CHOICE OF AG DUE TO ‘ILL HEALTH OR OTHER REASONS’- LAWYERS

THE Yang di-Pertuan Agong must appoint the new attorney-general according to the prime minister’s advice, constitutional lawyers said.

“The King must act on the advice of the prime minister. There is no choice.

“If he doesn’t, for ill health or other reasons, then the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah) can step in,” constitutional lawyer and former law expert at Universiti Malaya Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar told The Malaysian Insight.

Gurdial’s comments follows a Malaysian Insight report that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had written to the King more than 10 days ago, seeking the removal of Mohd Apandi Ali as A-G.

Dr Mahathir wants Apandi replaced with top lawyer and constitutional expert Tommy Thomas. The decision has the backing of all four parties in the new Pakatan Harapan government.

All PH parties – Amanah, Bersatu, DAP and PKR – felt that the appointment of a respected legal name would send the right signal to Malaysians and the rest of the world that the new government was serious about reforming the country’s institutions.

The appointment would also ensure the presence of a skilled litigator in the chambers to handle all high-profile cases, including the prosecution of those involved in the 1MDB scandal.

However, it is understood that the Palace and other Malay rulers want Dr Mahathir to recommend a Malay-Muslim candidate.

Another constitutional lawyer Syahredzan Johan said the King and the Council of Rulers have no constitutional basis to interfere in the appointment.

“The King does not have the discretion to choose the attorney-general. He must do so at the advice of the prime minister.

“The Council of Rulers have an even lesser role. The King does not need to consult the Council of Rulers,” said Syahredzan.

He added that the Federal Constitution did not stipulate that the attorney-general must come from a specific ethnic or religious group.

“The only requirement is that the person must be qualified to be a Federal Court judge,” he said.

To qualify as a Federal Court judge, a person must be a Malaysian and who has served at least for a decade as a lawyer or a member of the judicial and legal service, or both, according to Article 123 of the Federal Constitution, he said.

He said the King should expedite the appointment of the new attorney-general.

“Although the solicitor-general is carrying out the duties of the attorney-general temporarily, there are a lot of cases that needs to be reviewed by the new attorney-general, like the (corruption) charges against (Finance Minister) Lim Guan Eng.” – https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT