Dr Azmi Sharom, a law teacher, expressed his personal views in an article in the Star on 19th February 2009. The following is an extract from this article:
‘Now, did the Sultan of Perak act in a way that was unconstitutional when he appointed a new Mentri Besar? It is arguable.
The power to appoint a Mentri Besar is clearly at the discretion of the sultan. This is one of the few real powers that he has. A power that he does not have is to dismiss an existing Mentri Besar.
Usually, this does not raise many problems. During the last general elections, we saw the Sultan of Perak and the Sultan of Terengganu both deciding on who should be the new Mentri Besar of their respective states.
They made decisions that went against the desires of the majority party in both state legislative assemblies. The two monarchs thought that their choices commanded the confidence of the two Houses and were the best men for the job. It was their prerogative.
But the current case in Perak is different. The Sultan chose a new Mentri Besar while the old one was still in office. By appointing a new man, he was in effect sacking the old one. And sacking the Mentri Besar is not within his constitutional powers.
I think there is room for debate on this matter and, ideally, it should be settled in the Special Court.
Actually, I’m rather curious as to why the Sultan did not just dissolve the state assembly when requested. All this party-hopping business was reeking havoc on the public’s faith in the democratic system.
Surely, the clearest and fairest way out of the debacle was to have fresh state elections.
For the sake of continued faith in democracy, I would have thought the Sultan, who has spoken many times so eloquently about democracy and rule of law would have just said “Right, let the people decide again.”‘
AND SO SAY ALL OF US
