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news without borders
by Tan Yi Liang
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court held yester-
day it is the Election Commission (EC) and not
the state assembly speaker who has the power
to declare the Behrang, Changkat Jering and
Jelapang seats in Perak vacant.
It declared that Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu
(Changkat Jering), Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi
(Behrang) and Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang) can
keep their seats as independent members of the
state assembly.
“The Election Commission is the rightful
entity which establishes that there is a casual
vacancy of the seats in the state assembly,” said
Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Alauddin
Mohd Sheriff, who read out the unanimous de-
cision of the five-man quorum which included
chief judge of Malaya Datuk Arifin Zakaria,
Federal Court judges Datuk Nik Hashim Nik
Ab Rahman and Datuk Augustine Paul, as well
as Court of Appeal judge Datuk James Foong.
In submissions before the court yesterday,
Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, counsel for
the three assemblymen, had said it was “clear”
under article 36(5) of the Perak state constitution
that it was the EC and not assembly speaker V.
Sivakumar who has the power to declare the
three seats vacant.
“In determining or establishing a casual va-
cancy, the EC can go beyond merely accepting
a letter from the speaker. The word ‘establishes’
means that the EC has to prove the resignation
beyond doubt, and that is where article 36(5) of
the Perak constitution comes in. The speaker
has no role in establishing a casual vacancy.”
Firoz said article 35 of the Perak constitution,
which gives the speaker powers to declare seats
vacant, must be read in concert with article
36(5)
“Article 35 says that the speaker’s role is
to receive a letter (of resignation) written and
handed to him, but it must be read with article
Reactions to the new line-up
» Asli Centre for Public Policy Studies chair-
man Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam lauded the
composition and the “relatively high degree of
integrity” among the new cabinet members.
He said the line-up is refreshing in that there
are many new faces and that many of the “old
guard” have been replaced.
He said the introduction of Key Performance
Indicators for the cabinet reflects the higher
priority given to efficiency and meritocracy,
which are vital for national progress.
» The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers consideration the various component parties of the
(FMM) expressed its backing for Prime Minister Barisan Nasional and the inclusion of representa-
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s desire to move away tions from Sabah and Sarawak.
from the “government knows best” approach to a
more inclusive style of management.
FMM said this was evident in the establishment Datuk Paul Low said he hoped the new line-up will
Independents can
keep seats: Court
36(5) where a casual vacancy must be filled
once the EC establishes it. The speaker merely
receives the letter, that is all,” Firoz said.
He was accompanied by Attorney-General
Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, who called for a
distinction between casual vacancies of seats
and disqualification of assemblymen.
“I am differentiating between casual vacan-
cies and disqualifications. Each state has their
own requirements, and the requirements are
made very, very clear,” said Abdul Gani, who
cited clauses from various state constitutions to
point out the difference.
However, Sivakumar’s counsel Tommy
Thomas submitted that the court was not the
forum to discuss the issue as Sivakumar’s
decision was part of his duties as speaker of
the Perak state assembly and as such was not
subject to court scrutiny.
“When the speaker did what he did (to de-
clare the seats vacant), it was part of the busi-
ness of the house. They are matters for the state
assembly to decide and not the courts,” said
Thomas, who added that Sivakumar’s decision
was not frivolous.
Thomas said that the role of the EC was
merely “administrative” in nature.
“All the Election Commission does is an
administration role, and that is to fix the date.
Who tells the EC of a vacancy? The only source
of the Economic Advisory Committee that will tap the
expertise of professionals in their respective fields.
“We welcome the prime minister’s announce-
ment to initiate a performance and outcome-based
approach to managing the nation,” it said.
»
Bar Council president K. Ragunath said the
new cabinet must deliver what Najib has promised
and “live up to the expectations of the people”.
He also said there is not much change in the
line-up and the promise of a leaner cabinet did
not materialise. However, he said, Najib took into
»
Transparency International Malaysia president
commit to combat corruption in the government and
instill a culture of integrity in the civil service.
Asked whether he welcomes the new line-up,
he said: “Controversial people are not there.”
Low said that overall, the new line-up is made of
good and capable people. He is happy that they are
people with integrity and professional people.
» Aliran president P. Ramakrishnan said: “The cabinet
is smaller in the sense that there are 28 ministers now
compared to the previous 32. But will the new line-up
make all the difference to the lives of the Malaysians?
“Words have been uttered on numerous occasions
promising change and performance. But each time
these words have proven to be hollow and disappoint-
ing when what was promised was not delivered.
“The majority of ministers are from the previous
cabinet and they were part of a government that
had failed to deliver and fulfil the expectations of
the public at large.”
» Political scientist Dr Chandra Muzaffar said
the prime minister has ensured that individuals
who are perceived as “tainted” are kept out of his
cabinet and commended the blend of stalwarts
and newcomers.
He said the attempt to monitor the performance
of the various ministries is also commendable.
Chandra said the premier should not hesitate to
act boldly and firmly against ministers and deputy
ministers who are incompetent and/or corrupt.
» Penang Consumer Protection Association
president K. Koris Atan said: “I welcome the
prime minister’s initiative to reduce the number of
ministers in the cabinet as it was the right thing to
do during a global economy slowdown, but I hope
that all the cabinet ministers would be accountable,
corruption-free, competent and transparent.”
is the speaker. The only person who can write
to the EC is the speaker,” said Thomas, who was
supported by co-counsel Sulaiman Abdullah.
“The house and the EC have separate func-
tions, and the consequence (of the separate
functions) is this. The house decides on vacan-
cies and the composition, and the EC deals with
the process of elections,” Sulaiman said.
“The EC is forced to make a decision when
the house has informed them of a vacancy. They
do not decide whether the letter (of resignation)
is valid. That is the role of the speaker. The EC
has no business establishing the fact of a casual
vacancy. The member (of the state assembly)
who is deemed to have resigned has only re-
signed from the moment the Speaker says so.”
Sulaiman pointed out that if the EC were
meant to decide, “then surely there would be
procedures to deal with that”.
“The first step the EC must take is to be noti-
fied of the vacancy before fixing nomination
and polling dates,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ranjit Singh, a member of Siva-
kumar’s legal team, said yesterday’s decision
was not the end of the road for Sivakumar.
“We have filed two suits seeking a writ of
quo warranto from the three independents,
saying that they are impostors to their posts,
and we also seek relief against the EC seeking
to quash the decisions not to hold the by-elec-
Partnership with Muhyiddin solid
combination, says Najib
PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib
Tun Razak last night described his partnership
with his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as a
solid combination good for the Barisan Nasional
(BN) and country.
Najib said he was proud that Muhyiddin,
whom he had known since the time they were
in Umno Youth, was now the Umno deputy
president and deputy prime minister.
The prime minister also said that his new
cabinet would be able to serve well and convinc-
ingly in the interests of the people and country.
Recalling the progress of his political career
in the span that his dark hair had turned to grey,
Najib said people in politics should realise that
the political environment now differed from that
of the past.
Speaking at a thanksgiving reception on his
KPIs show PM’s commitment: Tee Keat
KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk Seri Ong
Tee Keat said the new cabinet line-up reflects the
commitment by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib
Tun Razak in wanting to put up a team of credible
and strong members under his leadership.
“The announcement today also means an end
to political speculations while the focus must now
be on job performance of the government,” Ong
wrote in his blog www.ongteekeat.net.
theSun | FRIDAY APRIL 10 2009
A
s Datuk Seri Najib
Razak tackles
the tough job
of managing the
country, the prime
minister will have
his priorities. So,
too, will Malaysians.
theSun invites you
to share what
you want the PM
and his cabinet
to focus their
energy on.
Let us know your three items in
order of priority, in not more than
100 words. Please email your list to
newsdesk@thesundaily.com.
tions and we want an order compelling the EC
to hold the by-elections. That matter is fixed in
May for our judicial review application.
“One of the suits was brought by Sivakumar,
while another was brought by a group of six
people, three Pakatan assemblymen and three
voters,” he said, saying both suits were virtu-
ally the same.
“They both take the position that the EC was
wrong and that the three independents had in fact
resigned, and by-elections should be held,” said
Ranjit who pointed out that the court allowed for
challenges to be brought against the EC.
“The court held that the EC and not the
speaker holds the power. But what the court did
not say was that the EC’s decision was correct.
We can challenge the EC in the High Court. If
we lose that, then all is gone. But if we win that,
then they have to hold by-elections.
“It does not mean that the decision of the EC
cannot be challenged. Just because it is a decision
of the EC, does it make that right? All govern-
ment decisions can be challenged in court.”
Najib and Muhyiddin shake hands
after the announcement of the
new cabinet line-up yesterday.
appointment as the sixth prime minister at Sri
Satria, the official residence of the deputy prime
minister, here, he said: “In our younger days, we
can win the elections even if we were to field a
banana plant.”
Najib said Umno leaders and members would
use the political approach of old in the new
environment if their minds were closed to the
differences.
“As a party and government, we must be bold
enough to institute change. We must be bold
enough to change ourselves and the political
methodology we use,” he said.
He said Umno and the BN lost in the Bukit
Gantang and Bukit Selambau by-elections re-
cently because they continued to use the old
political methodology while the opposition used
the new political methodology. – Bernama
He said Najib has rightly taken the step of
making the cabinet “leaner and meaner”.
Despite this, he said, Najib has kept the
status quo of four ministerial posts for the MCA
and even increased the number of MCA deputy
ministers by one to seven.
“But the BN should not just be about posi-
tions. It is also about reforms.
8 » See also Page10