107NEWSStop confusing people about rulers - Umno Youth tells AG to advise PM
UPDATED 8.01PM | Wing's chief says Mahathir must concede he does not have absolute powers.
It comes as a surprise that UMNO youth leader Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki seem to be schooling our veteran statesman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is currently serving as Prime Minister for the second time on his statement relating to the appointment of the Chief Justice of Malaysia as per the Federal Constitution
For the information of Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, Tun Dr Mahathir knows what the Federal Constitution says about the appointments of senior appointments.
To read Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki statement as reported here.
To illustrate PM Tun Dr Mahathir's viewpoint:
The PM clarified: "I always imagine that the king is the person who must approve all senior appointments but somehow or rather there is a reference to the Conference of Rulers. Now, it is not just the king, but it also has to go to the rulers. I don’t know what it means. The decision made (by Putrajaya) cannot be altered unless there is a valid reason.”
The Federal Constitution makes it abundantly clear that the prime minister (meaning the government) advises the king on whom to appoint as chief justice. The king must act on that advice. He has no choice in the matter. This is also made clear by a 2000 Court of Appeal decision when adjudicating on the relevant article 122B(1) of the constitution.
There is provision for the king to consult the Conference of Rulers. But this, ruled the court, does not amount to seeking their consent. The Conference of Rulers cannot deny the government’s candidate. In the words of the Court of Appeal:
“So in the context of article 122B(1) of the constitution, where the prime minister has advised that a person be appointed a judge and if the Conference of Rulers does not agree or withholds its views or delays the giving of its advice with or without reasons, legally the prime minister can insist that the appointment be proceeded with.”
It is timely for all to note that the king, in the context of our Federal Constitution, is merely a symbol of acts done as a constitutional monarchy at the behest of the government. The government represents the peoples’ will and its actions cannot be scuttled by anyone else. Nothing less than the democratic functioning of the country and the fundamental precepts of the constitution are at stake.
That is why all laws are made by the peoples’ representatives in Parliament – though the preamble to every such law still maintains the fiction that the maker is the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and the two houses of Parliament merely gave their advice and consent.
It is through ministers, deputy ministers, political secretaries and civil servants acting under its direction that the government runs the country and exercises its executive powers; sometimes in the more important matters in the king’s name, but most often under their own official designations. The king merely personifies the executive government of the country - symbolically and fictionally.
It is well to reiterate that our constitution did away with the concept of personal rule by a feudal landowning monarch and replaced it with that of a monarch whose powers are delimited by the constitution. In short, not an absolute but a constitutional monarchy. - Gurdial Singh Nijar
The law is very clear and need to be respected.
Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki should have know the law before issuing a statement criticizing our Prime Minister. Asyraf should not confuse the situation any further.
It would be rightful for the police to take action against Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki for undermining the Prime Minister.
It is really surprising that when UMNO had violated its own party constitution by not holding its elections and general assembly, Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki had remain silent then.- Mohd. Kamal Abdullah
The only motive behind this is to score some support from kampong malays that pm act as dap puppet to undermine the raja institution. Nothing more. But he forgot that most of those kampong ppl remembers what happen and why the powers of sultan were stripped by tun long ago. And the new gen were told from the writings of tamrin and several other ppl.
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