Selangor may fall into constitutional wrangle

It is almost certain now that PKR will press ahead for a full throttle-lashing so that Khalid will be ousted as MB, now that the former Guthrie chief executive officer is no longer their man in helming the state government.

Tan Sri Rais Yatim, NST

THE sacking of Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim by his party is normal in Malaysian politics. What may emerge as a possible constitutional wrangle is the state government that he heads as menteri besar (MB), a job that has now become contentious under the state constitution.

His position as MB must comply with the proviso that he still commands the majority support from the 56 state assembly members.

Khalid says he will continue to be MB although he views his sacking as non-justifiable. He has had an audience with Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, whose constitutional role and power may have to be invoked under less than normal circumstances.

Before looking at the constitutional role and powers under the Selangor state constitution, it may be insightful to discern what may happen legislatively in the next few days or weeks. It is almost certain now that PKR will press ahead for a full throttle-lashing so that Khalid will be ousted as MB, now that the former Guthrie chief executive officer is no longer their man in helming the state government.

True, as Khalid says, although he is now a sacked member of PKR, the job as MB is still his. But that is only true and valid in the event that: (a) there is no substantive vote of no confidence passed against him in the Selangor Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) and; (b) the Sultan grants him the assent of continuing to serve as MB on the basis of no dissolution of the DUN, a cardinal matter that his royal highness may or may not agree to effect.

Based on constitutional practice, while the Sultan has the power to appoint a MB, he has no authority to terminate the MB’s service. And in appointing an MB under Article 53(2)(a) of the Selangor state constitution, the royal power rests on the provision “who in His judgement is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly”.

And, if indeed, a vote of no confidence is tabled in the assembly, the outcome could still be speculative.

Will Pas and DAP join hands in ousting Khalid at the assembly?

Judging by prevailing political statements, what is clear is that Pas may not join the grouping of “stabbers”. If that is concretised, then the 15 DAP representatives will have to ply along with PKR’s 14 assemblymen. But with Khalid’s position now an independent, PKR is only left with 13 seats. In the event that PKR joins hands with DAP, they will have 28 votes, exactly half the membership of the assembly.

On the other side of the table, BN’s 12 assemblymen may find it necessary not to press for a no-confidence vote as a political “no” of the past has now become a political “yes”.

If this is joined up by Pas’ 15 votes, the addition could end up 27, just one vote fewer than that of the PKR-DAP combination. Presto, with Khalid positioning himself as an MB of going concern, the BN-Pas-Khalid combination will be another 28. Perfect for a tie-up sequence. Hence, there will be a hung assembly, one of the most unwanted scenarios in modern-day political democracy.

Realising this scenario, the Sultan may not be inclined to allow political uncertainty to prevail in his state where the pressing issues are more than mere mouthfulls of political salvoes.

The water supply havoc, housing shortage, the local government drag of not giving proper services to the rakyat and a host of other onerous matters are now testing public patience. The Sultan may want to allow the having of a fresh state election. At the same time constitutionally, he, as the Sultan, has the prerogative not to agree to having fresh polls.

If this road is chosen, then the rakyat must be prepared to witness and accept a lame state government on account of the fact that it now has a very limited mandate to function with decisiveness. It is, after all, now an open verdict: the rakyat wants their mandate of last year to be translated into robust action that must benefit them.

But what if the choice is based on “as is where is” basis, which may put the MB where he is?

The Selangor DUN will be cantankerous for sure, unable to deliver their services in the proper way and expectation.

A Catch-22 situation will be the order of the day — many will be quick to conclude this way. Moreover, with such a risky and onion skin 50-50 situation in the DUN, the welfare of Selangoreans will be at stake. Given the graphic uncertainty, the assembly may even fail to pass a real budget for next year. That is cuddling disaster.

In the last general election, out of 56 DUN seats, Pakatan romped home with 44. PKR got 14, Pas 15, DAP 15 while BN/Umno a mere 12 (MCA and MIC lost all seats), which represents about 21 per cent of the total Selangor DUN votes. Out of the 1,761,617 votes garnered, Pakatan received 1.1 million votes.

This time around, the scenario is expected to be a possible turnover.

The politics of PKR has eaten into its own flesh and with its bones well exposed as mere skeletons, it may not be able to walk the talk again.

While the constitutional language appears to be clear and specific in establishing “the confidence of the majority of members of the Assembly”, the prefix “…who in His judgement is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly” may also establish that this finding could be deemed as subjective matter to the Sultan, a situation which could mean that he may not abide by the assembly’s purported decision.

If this happens, there will be an impasse as there is nothing in the constitution to force the Sultan to act as per the decision of the DUN.

Granting that for now, this postulation is largely academic, the possibility of dissolution of the
assembly is still seen to be the best choice provided Khalid tenders his resignation in favour of this alternative.

With Khalid at the helm, some of his present executive council members may resort to resigning following party directive. To fill in the gaps, so to speak, will entail further dislocations, especially with a government that is deemed to be already weak and ineffective in the wake of present political realities.

At least, the people in Selangor will now be cornered to admit that politics of family dynasties does not benefit the rakyat. It is time again to look beyond party politics and concentrate on serving the people. But that again calls for a new foundation.