Perak Sultan’s writing may be misconstrued
By Zedeck Siew in The Nut Graph
A QUOTE by the Perak sultan, cited by many political commentators and legal minds to illustrate the ruler's contradiction in his decision not to dissolve the state assembly, may have been taken out of context.
"Under normal circumstances, it is taken for granted that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong would not withhold his consent to a request for dissolution of Parliament. His role under such a situation is purely formal," wrote Sultan Azlan Shah in an essay titled The Role of Constitutional Rulers.
The essay is included in Constitutional Monarchy, Rule of Law and Good Governance, a collection of writings by the Perak ruler and former Lord President of the Federal Court, published by Thomson Sweet & Maxwell Asia in 2004.
In a blog post titled Najib should stop illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak, DAP national advisor Lim Kit Siang cited Sultan Azlan's statement in his argument that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's bid to take over the Perak government was unconstitutional.
The Perak crisis saw the Barisan Nasional (BN) wresting state assembly control from the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) after two assemblypersons left Parti Keadilan Rakyat and one left the DAP to become independents who are "BN-friendly".
Malaysiakini's K Kabilan also quoted the sultan's words, saying that "with the political power play coming into the picture, it will not be a surprise if the sultan decides to act against his own writing in acceding to Najib's request rather than dissolving the state assembly."
Wong Chin Huat, writing for The Nut Graph, styled the sultan's words as "authoritative" in proving that "discretion need not be exercised by the head of state — in Perak's case, the sultan — when there is no abuse by the head of the government — the menteri besar."
However, a close reading of Sultan Azlan's essay reveals that his meaning may have been misconstrued. The ruler's oft-quoted comment on the formal role of the Agong in giving his consent to a request for dissolution of Parliament was referring specifically to normal circumstances.
The current Perak crisis is far from normal.
Read more at: http://www.thenutgraph.com/perak-sultans-writing-may-be-misconstrued
