BN didn’t always offer Sultan one MB nominee, Umno lawyer tells Anwar

(Malay Mail Online) – Barisan Nasional (BN) sometimes nominated more than one candidate to the Sultan for the mentri besar post, Umno lawyer Datuk Hafarizam Harun said, disputing a previous claim by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said Anwar was wrong to say that PKR was following an Umno convention when it only offered one nominee to the Selangor Sultan as in the past, BN has submitted more than one.

“Umno/BN have submitted both one name or many names; it depends on His Royal Highness the Sultan’s directives,” Hafarizam told Malay Mail Online.

“In 2008, for Perlis and Terengganu, we submitted one name each, but Sultan wanted more names, thus Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim and Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh were not re-appointed,” he added.

Perlis Sultan Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail had appointed Datuk Seri Dr Md Isa Sabu as MB in 2008 despite Shahidan receiving then-BN chairman Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s approval for the post, according to a report by The Star.

In Terengganu, Sultan Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin had similarly appointed Datuk Seri Ahmad Said to replace Idris despite the latter being backed by Umno.

Hafarizam stressed that choosing the mentri besar was the “sole prerogative” of the Sultan, according to both statutory provisions of the law and convention.

“Political parties have the right to propose, but the Sultan has the right to ask for more names. One name isn’t (a) choice, is it?” he said.

The lawyer added that there was a difference between the state rulers and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“In Parliament, if BN wins, the chairman of BN will always be nominated as prime minister,” he said.

Hafarizam also pointed out that there was a difference between BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR), noting that the former is a registered political coalition with a common symbol, while the latter is an unregistered pact comprising the three parties — PKR, PAS and the DAP.

“Thus, each party (DAP/ PAS/ PKR) must name its own candidate because neither one of the candidates proposed is a member of the other parties,” he said.

Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said recently that he will weigh the names put forward by the three PR parties, but will not limit possible candidates to those proposed by the DAP, PKR and PAS in search of Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s replacement.

The ruler expressed disappointment with PKR and the DAP for submitting just one name — PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail — despite having requested for more than two names from each PR party. PAS had submitted three undisclosed names.

Later, Anwar apologised to the Selangor Sultan for the slight, but stressed that his party was only following a convention set by Umno by handing in one name to the palace.

In a statement, the opposition leader pointed out that in the history of Umno’s rule since independence in 1957, the party had only ever provided the name of one state assemblyman or one parliamentarian to the palace for the post of chief minister, mentri besar or even prime minister.

Also in his response, Anwar said he was sorry if PKR’s adherence to the state constitution and practice had “scarred” the feelings of the Selangor Sultan.

Yesterday, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad appeared to confirm Anwar’s claim of Umno’s tradition of submitting just one MB nominee.

“I have submitted only one name and I never had any problems with any Sultans,” Dr Mahathir, who served as Malaysia’s longest prime minister, said.

He added, later, however, that PKR and Anwar should have abided by the Sultan’s request.