To resign or not to resign ― listen to thy heart! ― Hafiz Hassan

 There is no regulation which prevents the candidacy of Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Hasnal Rezua Merican Habib Merican to represent Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Kuang state constituency in the Selangor state election, said Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

“There is not even one regulation which bars (the nomination) and I have referred it to our lawyers,” Zahid said in a Kuang constituency ceramah at Bandar Tasik Puteri on Thursday night.

“Actually, we should be grateful because a figure in Suhakam who all this time saw that the fountain of justice should be realised and now that he is a BN candidate, he should not be considered unable to uphold the fountain of justice,” he added.

Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi speaks during a Kuang constituency ceramah at Bandar Tasik Puteri in Rawang August 3, 2023. ― Bernama pic

Perhaps we should look at Australian Tim Wilson who resigned ― twice.

Wilson, a member of the Liberal Party (LP), was a policy director for seven years at the Australian Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), a free-market think tank that had called for the abolition of the Australian Human Rights Commission (HRC).

His appointment by the Abbot government (September 2013 - September 2015) to the HRC in February 2014 accordingly sent shockwaves through the anti-discrimination and political establishments.

Wilson resigned, not only from the IPA but also from the LP, soon after his announcement to the HRC was announced.

Then Attorney General George Brandis (September 2013 - December 2017) said there was no contradiction between Wilson's appointment and the IPA’s previously expressed belief that the HRC should be abolished.

“People can have a view about whether or not a particular agency or organ of government should exist or not but that doesn't foreclose them for serving that agency or organ of government while it exists,” Brandis was reported to have said.

Two years into his five-year term, Wilson resigned from HRC to seek an LP preselection for the federal seat of Goldstein. Wilson had resigned from the party to be appointed to the HRC.

To return to the political fold, he resigned from the HRC. He had therefore resigned twice to be where he wanted to.

So, to resign or to not resign is like asking to be or not to be ― the most famous soliloquy in the works of Shakespeare, if not the most famous soliloquy in literature.

The Malays these days will say: tepuk dada tanya iman. It’s about listening to the heart! - malaymail

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.