Royalty compelled to observe Constitution, Anwar reminds parliament
(Malay Mail Online) – Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today reminded an audience of MPs that Malaysia’s system of constitutional monarchy compels royals to observe the country’s highest law, the Federal Constitution.
The reminder issued in parliament today addresses claims that Anwar had disrespected the Sultan of Selangor in an acrimonious leadership crisis which blocked the preferred candidate from rising to the office of mentri besar despite clearly having the requisite support of her peers.
Anwar, formerly an Umno member himself, reminded the Barisan Nasional lynchpin that its founder, Datuk Onn Jaafar, had once said the Malay nationalist party had fought for independence not to revive but to free Malaysians from feudal rule.
“I have never issued any statements that question the positions of the Malay Rulers. But I would like to remind you that we need to uphold this spirit:
“When Onn Jaafar, a nationalist leader from Umno that I respect, had stressed that the strength of Umno is because it was established to free and emancipate the minds and the country from feudalism,” Anwar said.
His comments are all the more pointed because Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had chided Anwar for upsetting the Selangor Sultan over the Selangor mentri besar post during the budget speech on Friday.
Anwar reminded Umno lawmakers that the party itself had amended the Federal Constitution to remove the royalty’s legal immunity and limit the role of the monarchy in Malaysia’s political affairs.
He said the amendments were done by then-president of Umno and prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to ensure the royalty were subjected equally to the country’s supreme law.
“What we are trying to defend, be it BN or Pakatan, is parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. This was in line with what Dr Mahathir had envisioned,” he said.
Anwar also dismissed criticism by Umno’s Tanjong Karang MP, Datuk Seri Noh Omar, who accused the opposition leader of recalcitrance for refusing to nominate more than one candidate for the Selangor MB post as requested by the Sultan.
The former deputy prime minister insisted it was his party’s prerogative to decide how many candidates to propose, noting that Umno did the same in the past.
“And if we submitted one name, what’s the problem? It’s up to us. Umno had done the same. Like in Perlis. They submitted only one name, and when the Sultan didn’t like, it just change it to another name. What’s the problem?” he said.
Prior to the selection of Azmin Ali as Selangor MB last month, the Selangor Sultan requested each of the three Pakatan Rakyat parties to nominate at least three candidates each for his consideration.
PKR and DAP both insisted on a sole nominee, leading to a rebuke from the ruler, who also said he would consequently consider candidates other than those proposed.
