Alamak !! Did the Prime Minister Get The "General Authority of the Cabinet" Prior To YDP Agong's Consent ??

 Charles Santiago is filing a suit to challenge the most recent dissolution of Parliament by the YDP Agong.

Before this, 12 PN Ministers have also disagreed with the dissolution of the Parliament and have written to the YDP Agong with their views.

 

"Cabinet members from Bersatu and PAS have penned a letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to voice their disagreement to calls by Umno leaders for the dissolution of Parliament to pave the way for the next general election this year.

It is understood that all 12 ministers from both parties, which are part of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, signed the Oct 3 letter to Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, in a sign that the Cabinet is divided over any move to dissolve Parliament".

And the following are some relevant paragraphs from the Federal Constitution which say that "the YDP Agong shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet." 

So it looks like the Prime Minister does not have a blank cheque to seek the YDP Agong's consent to dissolve Parliament.

It is the Cabinet which has to advice the YDP Agong or a Minister  acting under the general authority of the Cabinet. Of course in practice that Minister is the PM.

But since 12 PN Cabinet Ministers (from Bersatu and PAS) have written to the YDP Agong disagreeing with the dissolution of Parliament then the question arises did the PM have the "general authority" of the Cabinet to seek the YDP Agong's consent?

The Cabinet has 32 Ministers (checked Wikipedia here) but there are only 13 Barisan Nasional Cabinet Ministers. 12 Ministers (all PN) have already disagreed. Assuming all 13 BN Cabinet Ministers agreed to dissolve Parliament the question is what about the remaining SEVEN Ministers. 

And how sure are we that all 13 BN Ministers agreed with the dissolution of Parliament? Werent there any dissenting views among those 13 BN Ministers?

The Trap Is Sprung / Perangkap Telah Pun Di Pasang

I have another view. Why did the PM Ismail Sabri suddenly agree to Zahid Hamidi's  pressure to dissolve Parliament?

Just about two months back, when Najib was not yet put into jail, Ismail Sabri was simply ignoring BOTH Najib and Zahid Hamidi's non stop pressure that Parliament should be dissolved. Ismail Sabri did not even bother to attend those UMNO meetings called by Zahid.

Now Najib is already in jail. Its only Zahid Hamidi left and Zahid is not even a Cabinet Minister. Granted he is party president of Umno but he was also president two months ago.

So why did Ismail Sabri suddenly agree  to Zahid's request that Parliament be dissolved?

This dissolution of Parliament is not acceptable to a large majority of people including Malays who are traditional supporters of Umno and BN. This dissolution only makes them more disappointed with UMNO and the BN. Umno will lose even more votes.

The idea behind having a General Election during the north-east monsoon flood season is very simple. It is to discourage the voters from going out to vote. If the polling stations are under water, it is even better for those politicians who feel that this time around they stand a better chance of winning if the turnout is as low as possible.

They are seriously mistaken. Even if Gunung Krakatoa explodes and a flood of Noah's Ark proportions befalls the country, the voters will still go out to vote. I certainly will be voting. I have raincoats and umbrellas.

After 63 years the Malaysian voters kicked out UMNO / BN in 2018. Unfortunately UMNO/BN have managed to wriggle back into power. So come hell or high water the voters will come out again in GE15 and slam that wooden stake right through the heart to permanently kill the beast.  This time we seriously have to finish them off. 

 

My view is this is a trap into which Umno has fallen. So who set the trap? The usual suspects are those two senior gentlemen.  This dissolution does not help Umno. I have not yet heard any person who agrees with this 'Undi Banjir'. 

They are all waiting to go out and vote against Umno. Just wait and see.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.