Not onerous to have a Menteri Besar and four Exco members — Hafiz Hassan

OCTOBER 11 — Five years ago, I wrote “Will Zahid do what Najib did in 2009?”

What did Najib do in 2009?

In that year on February 5 at about 10am, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak, in his capacity as the chairman of the Perak Barisan Nasional (BN), had an audience with His Royal Highness the Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah.

At the meeting, Najib presented the late Sultan Azlan Shah with a letter of support from the 28 members of the State Legislative Assembly (SLA) who were aligned to the BN and that of the Behrang, Changkat Jering assemblymen and Jelapang assemblywoman.

The Behrang, Changkat Jering and Jelapang assembly persons declared and informed His Royal Highness that they no longer supported the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and instead threw their support behind BN.

The letter of support stated that the signatories would support whoever would be named by Najib as the candidate for the new Menteri Besar of Perak.

Later at about 11.15am, Najib brought all 31 members of the SLA to Istana Kinta to meet with His Royal Highness. All 31 members of the SLA pledged their support to the BN.

At about 2.16pm, His Royal Highness issued a press statement to Bernama, the material part of which reads as follows:

“Setelah menemui sendiri kesemua 31 ahli-ahli Dewan [Undangan Negeri], DYMM Paduka Seri Sultan Perak telah yakin bahawa YAB Dato’ Seri Ir Haji Mohammad Nizar bin Jamaluddin telah terhenti daripada mendapat kepercayaan sebahagian besar (ceases to command the confidence of the majority) dari kalangan ahli-ahli Dewan [Undangan] Negeri.”

What had happened was that Nizar had requested His Royal Highness for dissolution of the SLA, on the ground that he no longer commanded the confidence of the majority of the members of the SLA.

His Royal Highness rejected his request and acting under Article 16(6) of the State Constitution, His Royal Highness directed Nizar to tender his resignation together with that of the State Executive Council (Exco).

Had Nizar complied with the direction that would have been the end of the matter.

Nizar, however, took the stand that the issue of confidence could only be determined by a vote taken in the SLA. Without such a vote, he was not obliged to resign as directed by His Royal Highness.

Hence, he contended that His Royal Highness had acted outside a Ruler’s constitutional authority or power when His Royal Highness directed him to tender the resignation of the Exco.

In other words, before an Article 16(6) situation could be triggered there must first be a vote of no confidence put before the SLA, and in the event the SLA voted against a Menteri Besar, then and only then, could a request for a dissolution of the SLA under the Article 16(6) be made to the Ruler.

There was no such vote of no confidence against Nizar. Therefore, the prerequisite of Article 16(6) had not been satisfied.

The Federal Court ruled that there is nothing in Article 16(6) or in any other provisions of the State Constitution stipulating that the loss of confidence in the Menteri Besar may only be established through a vote in the SLA.

Evidence of loss of confidence in the Menteri Besar may be gathered from other extraneous sources provided they are properly established.

Such sources should include the admission by the Menteri Besar himself and/or representations made by members of the SLA that the Menteri Besar no longer enjoys the support of the majority of the members of the SLA.

This file picture taken on December 19, 2022 shows former Perak Menteri Besar and former state Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Public Transport Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin speaking at the State Secretariat Building in Ipoh. — Picture by Farhan Najib

There was evidence of such admission by the Menteri Besar himself and from the demonstration of support by the 31 members of the SLA for BN. Hence, giving BN a clear majority in the SLA.

All of the above showed that the Menteri Besar had lost the confidence of the majority of the members of the SLA.

It is clear and explicit from the apex court decision that the loss of confidence in a Menteri Besar may not only be established through a vote in the SLA.

Evidence of loss of confidence in the Menteri Besar may be gathered from other extraneous sources provided they are properly established.

In 2021, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi did not do what Najib did in 2009 — that is, seek an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong together with Umno MPs who were members of the party’s Supreme Council to present to His Majesty the withdrawal of support to then prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

So here it is again: Will Zahid do what Najib did in 2009?

End the impasse in Negeri Sembilan.

Prioritise the people and let them not be victimised.

The people and the state need an Executive Council composed of a Menteri Besar and at least four members.

That is not onerous.

Especially when BN has a two-thirds majority in the SLA.

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