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Motion of confidence: Lawyer says King won't lose discretionary powers

KUALA LUMPUR: The tabling of a motion of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat will not put a dent on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah's discretionary powers.

Prominent lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla said it was wrong to assume that the King's absolute power could be overridden if a new prime minister's legitimacy is tested by the parliment instead of by the monarch himself.

Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution stated the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint a prime minister to preside over the Cabinet and the person shall be among a member of the Dewan Rakyat who, in the King's judgment is "likely" to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House.

"The word 'likely' here clearly shows that there was no process of merit that had taken place to confirm or (to present as) evidence that the particular person (chosen as prime minister) does have the required majority.

"This was why the king himself decreed for the new prime minister (Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob) to prove his majority in the parliament once the House reconvenes, because the Agong understand that his power of appointment is not subrogated to the right of the Dewan Rakyat," he told the New Straits Times.

On Aug 18, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had decreed for the new prime minister to confirm his majority in the parliament as soon as the House sits again this year.

However, Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun said yesterday that it was unnecessary to legitimise Ismail Sabri's appointment.

Idrus argued that by doing so, the King's absolute power can be overruled by other parties, adding that the Federal Constitution had given the King a constitutional responsibility and an absolute power when it comes to the appointment of a prime minister.

Describing Idrus's remark as confusing, Haniff explained that a sitting prime minister does not have to test his or her majority in the House if the person just won a general election.

"But, we are still in the same parliamentary session since Pakatan Harapan became the government, although we have already had three prime ministers so far.

"When PH won in 2018, the parliamentary term was known as the 14th and since that was our last general election, the current parliamentary term is still known as the 14th, which means beginning with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and now Ismail Sabri, none of them were elected into office."

Haniff said instead of making attempts to protect the current government, Idrus need to separate himself from such a negative perception given that he is the adviser to both the government and King.

"The AG is also deemed as the King's adviser. If the Yang di-Pertuan Agong could lose his discretionary powers because the Dewan Rakyat gets to decide the legitimacy of a prime minister, then why the AG didn't stop the King from making that decree on Aug 18? Who gave that advice to the King?"

He said rather than focusing on irrelevant points just to save the prime minister from a motion of confidence in the Parliament, the AG should be neutral instead of making a "premature" statement.

"The issue here is not about confirming the appointment of Ismail Sabri by the King.

"This is about whether or not the confidence and majority showed earlier to the King (by Ismail Sabri) is still available today because he did not prove his legitimacy as a prime minister through a general election."

Citing precedents on the tabling of motions of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat, Haniff said Ismail Sabri could follow the "gentlemanly" actions showed by former premiers Tun Hussein Onn and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"After Tun Abdul Razak died, Hussein did not face issues with his confidence in Dewan Rakyat because the then government had a big majority. However Hussein chose to do the motion of confidence anyway because that is the convention.

"The same goes with Pak Lah (Abdullah) who tested his majority merely three days after taking over the reign from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"To me, the AG's remark was incorrect and had caused worry among the public because the principles of the law and constitutions were not properly followed this time.

"The AG must not allow himself to be in a 'conflict of interest' situation or let the people think that he is taking sides when he should remain neutral," he said.

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