KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — The nation’s Attorney-General should not “stray into the political minefield” — instead, he should strictly adhere to his role as the legal adviser of the government, said former Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary-general Lim Kit Siang.
Mr Lim’s statement on Saturday (4 Sep) was made in relation to Tan Sri Idrus Harun’s remarks on how a vote of confidence among Members of Parliament (MPs) is unnecessary as the King had already appointed Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Prime Minister (PM) in line with constitutional provisions.
“If the appointment of a new prime minister still needs validation by any party besides His Majesty, this would mean His Majesty’s absolute power can be overruled by other parties,” said Tan Sri Idrus.
The A-G’s opinion that a vote of confidence would undermine the King’s constitutional power to appoint a PM in specific circumstances, said Mr Lim, is “all politics and no law”.
“Nobody doubts that the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s appointment of Ismail Sabri as the ninth Prime Minister is fully in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution,” said Mr Lim.
He cited a statement from the Palace dated 18 Aug, in which it was said that the King had stressed that the PM appointed by His Majesty in line with Articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution must put forth a motion on the vote of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat.
This is to legitimise and confirm that the PM does indeed have the majority support of parliamentarians in the Lower House.
“With such a royal decree, the Attorney-General’s contention that “If the appointment of a new prime minister still needs legitimacy from anyone besides His Majesty, this means His Majesty’s sole discretion can be overruled by others” collapses,” said Mr Lim.
The opposition politician also highlighted that both the third Prime Minister, Hussein Onn, and the fifth Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sought a vote of confidence from the majority of MPs as part of their first moves in Parliament.
“The question now is whether Ismail Sabri going to disregard the decree of the Yang di Pertuan Agong in one of his first acts as the ninth Prime Minister of Malaysia when Parliament meets on Sept. 14.
“Why is Ismail Sabri afraid to prove that he has the confidence of the majority of MPs when Parliament meets on September 14, 2021?
“Is Ismail Sabri afraid that his majority of 114 MPs has disappeared in less than a month and that he could not get a majority of at least 111 Members of Parliament to vote in support of a vote of confidence in him as Prime Minister when Parliament meets on Sep 14?” Mr Lim questioned.
In a later statement on Monday (6 Sep), Mr Lim reiterated his criticism of the new PM, stating that the latter “has changed from enhancing to jeopardising the possibility of a political breakthrough in Parliament”.
The breakthrough, he said, could take place in the form of a “confidence-supply-reform accord” between the government and the opposition, ushering a political ceasefire for the next 12 to 18 months until the next general election.
This is so that “everyone, whether government, opposition or the people, can focus single-mindedly on winning the losing war against the COVID-19 pandemic while carrying out parliamentary and institutional reforms”, Mr Lim said.
“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong had decreed on August 18 that the new prime minister must seek a vote of confidence in Parliament as soon as possible to determine his legitimacy, that MPs should work together to focus on the Covid-19 response and economic recovery, and that “the winner does not win everything while the loser does not lose everything”.
“It would be most unfortunate that it is the new Prime Minister who is jeopardising the government and the opposition reaching a confidence-supply-reform understanding in accordance with the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” said Mr Lim.
