Friday, May 15, 2020

Royalty in Malay politics


MM Online:

Johor Pakatan cancels tabling no-confidence vote against MB after Sultan cautioned against ‘disruption’



Johor PH chapter chief Aminolhuda Hassan said the decision was made after Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar informed all assemblymen to abide by the coming state assembly’s proceedings in Kota Iskandar on that day, with the Johor ruler saying he does not want any ‘disruption’

Picture by Ben Tan
 


JOHOR BARU, May 11 — The Johor Pakatan Harapan (PH) will not be tabling a no-confidence motion against Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad during the opening of the state assembly sitting this Thursday, chapter chief Aminolhuda Hassan said today.

He said the decision was made after Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar had recently informed all assemblymen to abide by the coming state assembly’s proceedings in Kota Iskandar on that day, with the Johor ruler saying he does not want any “disruption”.

“We in PH Johor will abide and respect the royal institution. With that, there will be no motion coming from us, especially on the no-confidence against Datuk Hasni.

“Tuanku has made it clear that he does not want any disruption when he officiates the Johor state legislative assembly sitting on May 14,” Aminolhuda told Malay Mail, referring to the sultan.

Aminolhuda said the sultan’s message was relayed to Johor PH leaders through state assembly Speaker Suhaizan Kaiat.

He was responding to rumours that PH may initiate a no-confidence vote against Hasni on that day.

Aminolhuda explained that all 27 PH assemblymen would be attending the one-day sitting.

He said the assemblymen have carried out all the necessary online registration to attend the opening.

“At the same time, we also hope that the state Perikatan Nasional (PN) assemblymen will also abide by the Sultan of Johor’s advise on the matter.

“Hopefully, they will not bring their motion to replace Speaker Suhaizan,” said Aminolhuda, referring to Johor PN assemblymen.

Aminolhuda, who is the Johor Parti Amanah Negara chief and also Parit Yaani assemblyman, said that PN does not have the numbers to oust the Speaker.

He claimed that the alleged statutory declarations it wanted its assemblymen to sign did not get the support needed.

Last week, Johor’s political atmosphere was heated after both state PN coalition parties Bersatu and Umno had a tense stand-off.

There were also rumours that PH will table a no-confidence motion against Hasni. At the same time, it was revealed that there was a plot to oust Suhaizan from his role.

The Johor state legislative assembly is scheduled to meet for a day on Thursday.

Johor has a total of 56 state assembly seats. PN holds 29 seats with Umno having 14, followed by Bersatu (11), MIC (two), PAS (one) and one Independent.

Johor PH has a total of 27 seats with DAP leading with 14, Amanah (nine) and PKR (four)
.

This was 4 days ago. I wonder what HM meant by not wanting any ‘disruption’?

Did his 'disruption' mean ADUNs 'displaying' the aerodynamic characteristics of chairs and tables, wakakaka, or name calling a la the Melaka DUN?

Pork Pig Sow - Free photo on Pixabay

I'm from Melaka DUN, oink oink

Or, did it mean there must be NOT be any motion proposed for a vote of no confidence on the Johor MB?

Well, yesterday HM via the MB said HM's decree has been for the ADUNs to work together to help the people who are struggling amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and that ADUNs are expected to be able to interpret the “divisive virus”, which HM described as more dangerous than the coronavirus.

And you know something mateys, HM has been correct, that the virus of political divisiveness could be and probably is far more deadly than Covid-19.

Switching to what RPK has been preaching for a while at his blog, that "Maybe Malaysia’s Westminster System of Parliament has been modelled after UK’s Westminster System of Parliament, however, there is a slight difference. The UK has three branches of government while Malaysia has four. This is because alongside the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, Malaysia also has the Monarchy."

When he said this a couple of years back, of course I originally disbelieved him as there's NOTHING written legally (constitutionally) on what he said, to wit, the Monarchy is a fourth branch of the government. In fact, in a Westminster parliamentary democracy, the royal head of state serves only as the nation's constitutional head (with no executive power), principally as a symbol of national unity, full stop.

Supreme Court losing luster in public's eyes

While that may be so, that is, there's NOTHING written legally (constitutionally) about a constitutional head of state having executive powers, the reality is he was/is right ... in a certain way, by virtue of our feudalistic past of absolute monarchs, which alas in some cases has crept forth into our politics today. Thus we have sometimes witnessed monarchs of some states in Malaysia acting as if they were NOT only a branch of the government but a branch that has overriding powers even over the other 3 branches (executive, legislative and judiciary).

Take for example, after the Satay-rised Kajang by-election on 23 March 2014, when PR nominated Wan Azizah as its new MB to replace Khalid Ibrahim, HRH rejected her candidature. On constitutional terms, HRH had no such powers. Instead, with some no-doubt instigating anti-Anwar and anti-women conniving 'advice' from 'interested' parties or rather parties with 'interests', HRH ignored Pakatan Rakyat's nomination.

Wikipedia informs us: The Sultan requested that each coalition party submit three names for his consideration. PKR and the DAP submitted only Wan Azizah's name, while PAS submitted others.

On 22 September, the Sultan announced the appointment of Azmin. He was sworn into office the following morning.

Indeed, ignoring the sole nomination of the majority of Pakatan Rakyat HRH plucked a candidate out of the left field and ber-'titah' that Azmin Ali was the MB of Selangor. As mentioned earlier, in accordance with the Westminster parliamentary practice, HRH did NOT have that right nor power, but so what, he exercised his royal prerogative then. No one dared say otherwise?


Menteri Besar? Well, Haziq could have been 'Besar' 

The same had occurred in some other states too. Those were instances when Malay rulers eff-ed the Westminster constitution kaukau.

However, only 2 men in Malaysian history have the gumption to defy royal orders and wishes, namely, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Mahathir Mohamad.

The former, Tunku, himself a 'royal' would of course enjoy the intrinsic advantage of acting as a member of the royalty, but nonetheless it has to be said he did it with courtly grace and subtlety so the monarchs were never embarrassed or infuriated, whilst the other, a Mamak, did it in exactly the opposite way to Tunku.

Tunku did it to ensure the monarchs did not exceed their constitutional roles/limitations, in other words, ensuring the government would only be of three arms (executive, legislative and judiciary). Mahathir OTOH did it for his own political conveniences, meaning the Malaysian government would have only one arm, that of the executive, namely, himself.




I did everything my way, and WTF could you do?

Well, Tunku had long gone, and may his gracious soul be in the embrace of Allah swt, whilst Mahathir is a slowly but inevitably closing chapter in Malaysian political history. So the question asked is: Will RPK's assertion of a four-armed Malaysian government continue to be true in the future?


8 comments:

  1. It is clear in Johor which side has Royal favour, right from during the GE 14 campaign.

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  2. democracy with malay characteristics, a model that will suit msian well, no more follow the western outdated approach.

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  3. We will get confirmation if His Majesty "passes" the 260 billion special budget on Monday.

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  4. While other countries make great strides forward in democracy, but in Malaysia we take huge leaps backwards.

    We now resort to the Rulers conducting "elections" and choosing the government.

    The Wakil Rakyats in the US Congress can vote remotely, even give proxy votes, but in Malaysia our Wakil Rakyats are silenced.....

    And Jellyfish Minister Wee KHAT Siong is still silent while our Great Champion LKS is shouting from the rooftop....bless his soul...ha ha ha..

    QUOTE
    House approves historic rules change to allow remote voting during Covid-19 pandemic

    Clare Foran, Haley Byrd and Manu Raju

    May 15, 2020

    Washington (CNN)House Democrats on Friday approved a rules change to allow lawmakers to vote while away from Washington during the coronavirus pandemic, a move that will allow the chamber to operate remotely for the first time in its more than 200-year history.

    Democrats approved the rules change, which stands to significantly alter the way the House conducts legislative business, over Republican opposition with a vote of 217-189.

    Republicans protested the rules change as a partisan power grab that will upend institutional tradition, while Democrats argued the change was needed to ensure that lawmakers can continue to legislate safely and effectively amid the pandemic.

    Lawmakers will next vote on a Covid-19 aid package with a price tag of more than $3 trillion, which House Democratic leaders have expressed confidence will pass despite Republican opposition as well as pushback from some moderate and progressive Democrats.

    The rules change will authorize temporary implementation of remote voting by proxy in the event of a public health emergency due to the coronavirus. It also allows for remote committee proceedings during the pandemic.

    Under the rules change, lawmakers who cannot or do not want to travel during the pandemic will be allowed to designate proxies by sending letters to the House clerk. Proxies will be required to "receive exact written instruction" from the members who are using them as proxies, according to the House Rules Committee.

    Any given member can serve as a proxy only for up to 10 other lawmakers.
    Once enacted, the authorization for remote voting and remote committee work will remain in place for a 45-day period, after which it could be extended if the public health emergency persists.
    UNQUOTE

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    Replies
    1. Great Champion LKS?????

      wakakaka, "Great Champion LKS" kau cabut-ed dari debate yg dia menyusul sendiri - Pengecut lah

      wakakaka again - "Great Champion" kau 'nak resign jikalau Iblis tak serah kedudukan PM kpd anwar? wakakaka, KERBAU Raksasa

      Delete
  5. Yeo Bee Yin (working while on maternity leave) shows the ineptitude of Khairy...

    QUOTE
    'Why isn't government pursuing online options for Dewan sitting?'
    By Kalbana Perimbanayagam - May 15, 2020

    KUALA LUMPUR: The government should not use the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse for Parliament to delay its sitting after it convenes for one day on May 18.

    Former Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (Mestecc) Minister Yeo Bee Yin said there are many options for Parliament to adopt in terms of technology, if the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government wishes to do so.

    Yeo said there are many platforms which can be used to host an online Parliament sitting without the need for Members of Parliament to come face-to-face with one another, for fear of being infected.

    "This is the first Parliament session led by the PN government since the change of government in March. It will have no question and answer sessions, no motion, no debate, and no vote.

    "More so, PN has been putting off any Parliament session or parliamentary committee meetings by giving the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse," she said in a statement this evening.

    "If (prime minister) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the PN government are confident of the majority support and not afraid to face the check-and-balance by Opposition MPs, why won't they use the many technological solutions available to allow Parliament to operate meaningfully – virtually, physically or a mix of both. A Standing Order can be amended to allow this, if needed," said Yeo.

    Yeo, who is also Bakri MP, questioned why Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Khairy Jamaluddin, despite having spoken on technology for contact tracing, testing facilities and patient care, is not promoting the use of technology for the Parliament sitting.

    "Why has he been extraordinarily silent on advocating the use of technology to proceed with the Parliament sitting?" she asked.

    Yeo said there is a host of ready-made solutions to choose from, such as Zoom, Google and others.

    "Parliament in many countries have started to operate virtually (fully or partially) not only in developed countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, France, New Zealand and Luxembourg, but also in developing countries like Poland, Maldives, Brazil, Angola and many others.

    "With the current and available technologies, there are 1,001 ways to allow Parliament to continue to function as a check-and-balance mechanism for the executive branch of power during the Covid 19 pandemic" she said.

    Yeo said this sitting is crucial for the people.

    "Any given government would have the good sense and responsibility to the people to convene and debate what the next course of action is with the interest of the people at heart.

    "Are we not, first and foremost, the people's representatives to voice their utmost concerns, and Parliament is where we convene?"
    UNQUOTE

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  6. Lim Kit Siang, a mere opposition back-bencher fights for Parliamentary Democracy.

    Wee KHAT Siong, a Full (but Jellyfish) Minister keeps Mute and Pute. His Silence Means Consent with what the PN government is doing.

    LKS's QUOTE
    Immediate, humiliating and drastic demotion of Dewan Rakyat Secretary, Riduan Rahmat, even without the decency of 24 hours’ notice, raises disturbing question about the PN government’s commitment to parliamentary democracy

    Riduan should be immediately reinstated as Dewan Rakyat secretary as his humiliating and drastic demotion is an unconstitutional punishment violating Article 65(2) of Malaysian Constitution

    Riduan Rahmat is making history as having the shortest stint as the 13th Dewan Rakyat secretary, as he was appointed to the post on February 22, 2020 – less than three months!

    It is an ignominious end for Riduan’s parliamentary service for 31 years, as he joined the civil service as an administrative officer at the Parliament of Malaysia on Jan 31, 1989 and has served as Dewan Negara secretary since September 8, 2014.

    Riduan should be immediately reinstated as his humiliating and drastic demotion is an unconstitutional punishment which violates Article 65(2) of the Malaysian Constitution.

    Article 65(2) provides that the Dewan Rakyat secretary, which is one of the top civil service posts, should be appointed by the Yang di Pertuan Agong, and “shall hold office until he attains the age of compulsory retirement for members of the general public service unless he sooner resigns his office or is transferred to another office in the general public service”.

    Riduan is not being “transferred to another office in the general public service” but is unconstitutionally punished without cause and further subject to drastic demotion as well.
    UNQUOTE

    https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2020/05/16/riduan-should-be-immediately-reinstated-as-dewan-rakyat-secretary-as-his-humiliating-and-drastic-demotion-is-an-unconstitutional-punishment-violating-article-652-of-malaysian-constitution/#more-40695

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  7. Hereditary monarchy with executive powers is a still existing, but rapidly declining force in the world.
    It existed in a world where ordinary peasants had limited knowledge of the outside world and little or no means to express their views. That world no longer exists.

    That is why so much focus is placed on severely suppressing any on-line criticism or holding Royalty to accountability.

    No doubt unfortunate individuals will continue to suffer from Authoritarian suppression, in the long term, the Royalty can't suppress the tide of history.

    Evolve or become extinct.

    ReplyDelete