The Sultan’s powers and the Menteri Besar
Frequently asked questions on the powers of the Sultan if a menteri besar (MB) is shown to have lost the confidence of the majority of the State Assembly under the Selangor State Constitution.
Q. If a sitting MB loses the confidence of the majority of the legislative assembly, what happens?
Then he must tender his resignation together with the members of the State Executive Council.
Is this the only thing that could happen?
No, he may also request the Sultan to dissolve the legislative assembly. If the Sultan so decides, it means that fresh state elections will have to be held.
Is the Sultan bound to act upon the request of the MB to dissolve the assembly?
No.
What must the Sultan do then?
He should assess whether the loss of confidence of the MB creates a situation that suggests that the affairs of the legislative assembly cannot be conducted by the election of a replacement MB and the appointment of a new executive council. If this can be done, then he should not dissolve the assembly.
If the dominant party – supported by a majority of the members of the party – has already named a replacement for the incumbent MB, and together they constitute the majority of the members of the assembly, this indicates that the legislative assembly and the newly appointed MB and its new executive council can rule the state without any difficulty. In this situation the Sultan has to exercise his powers to require the MB to resign. The option of dissolving the assembly will not then arise.
Is this stated in the State Constitution?
No, but it is a convention. In our Federal Constitution based on the Westminster model, (which is replicated in State Constitutions), we follow practices and usages to make the constitution work. These are called conventions and must be followed. Conventions regulate the manner in which government is to be conducted; in this case, how discretionary powers are to be exercised.
Although conventions are not enforced by courts, the existence and content of a convention may form part of a judge’s reasoning in coming to a decision, as confirmed by leading constitutional law authorities. As an example, see Turpin and Tomkins in their book, British Government and the Constitution: 7th edition (2011), page 198.
How can the MB be “proved” to no longer command the confidence of the majority of the legislative assembly?
One, is by a vote in the assembly on a resolution to declare that fact. Alternatively, the loss of confidence of the MB may be communicated to the Sultan by any other means – by letter, by oral communication or a combination.
The important thing is that the Sultan must be satisfied that the majority no longer support the incumbent MB.
