Senator moots amendment to prevent abuse of statutory declarations

 

It is time to clarify the provisions of the Federal Constitution related to the appointment of the prime minister based on the support of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat, said senator Yusmadi Yusoff.

This, he said, was to avoid interpretations of the provision which could lead to the misuse of the statutory declarations (SD) in changing the government that was elected through elections and people’s mandate.

He said that SDs signed under the Statutory Declaration Act 1960 should not be misused for political purposes as has happened in this country.

Yusmaidi cited previous cases such as the removal of the Sarawak chief minister Stephen Kalong Ningkan in 1966 through a memorandum and the appointment of Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad who had gathered sufficient SDs in 2020, saying that they should be “corrected” in policy and legislation.

He referred to Article 43 (2) (a) that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has the right to appoint the prime minister to chair the cabinet from among the members of the Dewan Rakyat who in his opinion may gain the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat members.

Yusmaidi, who is with PKR, said the article should be clarified to prevent abuse in the future, so that politicians would stop the habit of gathering SDs of support and ignore the people’s mandate.

“The intention of SD is not for such a purpose (to change the government). If only SDs were needed to form the government, there would be no need to hold elections.

“[...] Given that there are interpretations (of the provision) that are said to cause such abuses to occur, I urge that the provisions of the Constitution be clarified.

“And for that clarification, it can be an amendment, or it can also happen in clearer rules,” the former Balik Pular MP told Malaysiakini yesterday.

Yusmadi said that the constitution has clearly outlined the approach that should be used to express support in Parliament, for example through a vote in support of the budget or a secret vote in the election of speakers.

“The constitution clearly stipulates that the right of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to appoint the prime minister must be made in the Dewan (Rakyat),” he added.

Last February the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government was triggered by the resignation of then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had set about trying to form a unity government instead of handing over the reins to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as promised.

In its aftermath, there was an “SD war” to gain support for the eighth prime ministerial candidate, with some MPs allegedly having professed support for more than one candidate.

Finally, Muhyiddin Yassin was appointed prime minister after allegedly gaining the support of a majority of parliamentarians from BN, Bersatu, PAS, GPS and parties in Sabah.

Earlier, Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said that he did not sign the SD in support of Muhyiddin out of respect for the Federal Constitution.

He said determining one’s majority support in the Dewan Rakyat through SDs may not be proper.

“Statutory declarations can be forced - forced by the party, forced by opponents, forced by anyone or even threatened.

“What is required of Parliament is a vote in the Dewan Rakyat where MPs can vote openly and sincerely. That is what is required by the Federal Constitution,” he said. - Mkini