Sabah Water fiasco shows disrespect of law, says state PKR

Sabah PKR women chief Rahimah Majid says Amarjit Singh should have respected the court’s decision and stepped aside.

KOTA KINABALU: The wrongful appointment of a Warisan official to head the state water department and the subsequent defiance of the court decision has compromised the credibility and integrity of the state government, said Sabah PKR women chief Rahimah Majid.

“The feedback gathered from the ground indicates that this episode has tarnished the reputation and image of the state government,” she said in a statement today.

She said the chief minister and the state government are sending wrong signals to the world and potential investors that it will not honour the law and court decisions.

“They have set a bad precedent and if foreign investors stay away from Sabah, the chief minister and his Cabinet will have to bear the responsibility,” she said in response to a statement by Chief Minister Shafie Apdal yesterday.

Shafie said the state government would “correct” the wrong process that led to the appointment of Amarjit Singh as the Sabah Water Department director last August.

Shafie had said although the High Court had made a ruling on Amarjit’s appointment, it did not state that his appointment was “illegal”.

Rahimah also questioned the validity of the statement by de facto law minister VK Liew that Section 3(2) of the Sabah Water Supply Enactment 2003 does not apply to the director.

She said the statements by both Shafie and Liew were contrary to the fundamental principle of separation of powers of the legislature, executive and the judiciary in Malaysia, which is necessary so that there are checks and balances.

“They obviously failed to respect the law and are setting a bad example. The High Court has made a decision and this should be followed even if you don’t agree. Not only must the letter of the law be respected but also the spirit of the law as well.

“No one is above the law, more so for a person who is supposed to uphold the law, the constitution and the rule of law.”

Rahimah, who is a practising lawyer herself, said both Shafie and Liew should have respected the court’s decision and let the state attorney-general do her job accordingly.

“Obviously, the chief minister was ill-advised to ask Amarjit to continue instead of asking him to take leave pending the appeal. It is trite law that an appeal does not operate as a stay of execution.

“The director should not be instructed to continue. If at all, he should only resume after compliance of the law, and after whatever correction, as mentioned by the chief minister, if it can be corrected at all.

“Even if wrongly instructed by the chief minister, Amarjit should have respected the court’s decision and stepped aside,” she said.

Rahimah said, by appointing Amarjit, who is a non-civil servant, the state government had not only run foul of the law, but had also clearly degraded the most senior, qualified and experienced officer, who was supposed to fill the said vacancy, and badly demoralised the civil service, which is essentially the backbone of the state government. - FMT