A HUNG Parliament or legislative assembly has been written by our very own constitutional expert, Emeritus Professor Shad Saleem Faruqi, almost 10 years ago.
In his usual aplomb, the eminent scholar wrote: “Appointment of the menteri besar (MB) is an undoubted royal discretion. However, being a constitutional monarch, the Ruler is required to observe constitutional and conventional limits.
“The MB must be from the state assembly. He must be a person who in the opinion of the Ruler is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the assembly’s members. In the Malay States, the MB must be a Muslim and a Malay unless the sultan allows an exception.
“Despite his discretion, the sultan must, in a hung assembly, take note of the conventional ‘incumbency rule’”.
“The incumbent MB should be given the first bite of the cherry and be allowed to continue to govern, to enact a budget and critical laws.”
He concluded his thoughts of wisdom as follow: “The lessons of history are always important. Life is always larger than the law and no statute can anticipate the permutations of political life.”
How true. And when history is only days old, how have we not learned from it?
I am referring to the historic minority government just north of Putrajaya, in Ipoh.
On Monday, Barisan Nasional (BN) Kota Tampan assemblyman Datuk Saarani Mohamad was sworn in as the Perak MB in front of Sultan Nazrin Muizzudin Shah at Istana Iskandariah.
This is despite BN contributing the smallest number of seats (nine). Saarani, the caretaker MB, was reappointed after receiving support from a total of 33 assemblymen from BN and its new partner Pakatan Harapan (PH).
The next day a total of 10 Perak assemblymen – seven from PH and three from BN – were sworn in as executive councillors, making up the state cabinet. It is a minority government by constitutional convention literally at our doorstep, so to speak.
Importantly, it is constitutional. Article 16(2) of the Perak constitution states as follows:
The Executive Council shall be appointed as follows, that is to say –
(a) His Royal Highness shall first appoint as Mentri Besar to preside over the Executive Council a member of the Legislative Assembly who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly; and
(b) he shall on the advice of the Mentri Besar appoint not more than ten nor less than four other members from among the members of the Legislative Assembly.
Saarani has the confidence of the majority of assemblymen – thanks to the support of 24 PH assemblymen. His appointment as MB complies with Article 16(2)(a). Sultan Nazrin has duly observed constitutional and conventional limits.
Perak Boleh! We are therefore stumped by the impasse at the federal level.
As a Perakian would say: “Teman pun heran. What say kome? (I’m perplexed too. What say you?)” – The Vibes, November 24, 2022
Hafiz Hassan reads The Vibes
