YOURSAY ‘Or three names. Will they make a U-turn again?’

PKR, DAP insist on nominating only Azizah

Gerard Lourdesamy: PKR and DAP should inform the palace that their one and only candidate is Wan Azizah who at present commands the support of at least 30 Aduns (state representatives).

PAS, which is currently in Pakatan Rakyat but refusing to conform with decisions of the Pakatan presidential council, can nominate whoever it wants given that it has 13 Aduns (less the two who are supporting Wan Azizah).

Even if Umno teams up with PAS and Khalid, the alternative coalition only has 26 Aduns. The sultan would find it impossible to appoint an MB (from PAS or Umno) who does not have 29 Aduns in the assembly.

Even if he does, the new MB will be voted out of office in November during the budget session of the assembly and until then, he or she will remain the head of an illegitimate government.

The sultan can dissolve the assembly if he insists on his choice of MB but it is likely that the next Selangor government will only consist of PKR and DAP members since PAS will be losing most of their seats thanks to their own duplicity.

Appum: Well said, Gerard Lourdesamy. If a PAS MB gets appointed, there should be a move of no confidence against him and we should go for a snap election.

Perhaps the sultan needs to be convinced of what the will of the people really is. Oh, as an aside, if, PAS implements hudud in Selangor, would it be like in Brunei where the sultan is exempted?

Desperate for Change: The rakyat voted for PKR. PKR and DAP nominated Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as replacement for Khalid Ibrahim. Khalid does not have majority. He has since resigned. Azizah has the majority.

In fact, the sultan, who should be above politics, should say yes to Azizah. There should no more delay in this. I want to see the first woman MB in Malaysia.

Ferdtan: What will PAS do? The sultan's decree is for all three parties to nominate "more than two names" each among the Selangor representatives. PKR and DAP again have decided to submit only one name, Wan Azizah.

PAS has declared to "accept" the sultan's decree. That means that they may submit two names as opposed to their other two partners. Earlier they had said they would leave the decision to the wisdom of the sultan and will not nominate anyone.

So this time, will they again make a U-turn to follow the sultan's decree? If they are to submit two names what names are they proposing? Will the names be from PAS - when they had previously stated clearly this MB's seat belongs to PKR? Another U-turn?

If they are from PAS, they cannot get the majority support, even if Umno and Khalid were to add in the count.

Or if PAS kept to their public announcement of submitting two names from PKR, will it be Wan Azizah and Azmin Ali as originally intended? Then again the problem is how can they submit Azmin's name when he has declined to accept the nomination?

This is equivalent to an insult to the sultan for being frivolous by submitting a name when the proposed candidate has declined. If names of other members of PKR were to be submitted, have they obtained their permission?

They have already signed SDs to support their president Wan Azizah. This is the dilemma of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, who has dug his own grave. He is causing problems not only to the Pakatan's unity but also to his party.

Not Convinced: PAS can submit one name (Pakatan decision) or two names (party decision on Aug 17) or no names (party decision to let sultan decide on Aug 25). Or even three or more names (as requested by the sultan on Aug 26).

Clearly PAS can’t make up its mind and is at odds with itself.

Proarte: The sultan is assuming authority which he does not have by dictating additional names for MB. We have a constitutional monarchy in Malaysia and any power which the sultan has is conferred by the constitution.

It is very important in a democracy that we do not allow any element of arbitrariness in the exercise of constitutional provisions as this defeat the purpose of a written constitution and devolves power illegally to an institution such as the monarchy which may abuse its role and ride roughshod over the will of the rakyat.

The monarchy must know its place in society otherwise there will be disaffection with the institution and republican sentiments may surface. If the institution of the monarchy is to survive in Malaysia, then the royals would do well to abide by the constitution.

The sultan acts on the advice of the MB of the state. He appoints the MB on the basis of majority support in the state assembly. He cannot circumvent constitutional provisions and act arbitrarily.

My4HOPE: Wikipedia: Constitutional monarchy is a form of democratic government in which a monarch acts as a non-party political head of state within the boundaries of a constitution, whether written or unwritten.

While the monarch may hold formal reserve powers and the government may officially take place in the monarch's name, the monarch does not set public policy or choose political leaders.

Anonymous_5fb: A MB is the one that command majority in the state assembly. With this in mind, what is the use of submitting two or more names?

So, since Wan Azizah has the majority support, she is rightfully the MB. Both PKR and DAP are doing the right thing in submitting one name here, i.e. Wan Azizah.

Kamikasi: Sadly, we have come to this stage where the president of the majority party is denied the post of the chief executive officer at the pleasure of the sultan.

The sultan must give reasons why Wan Azizah is not suitable. This type of strategy will only create more insults and anger to the people of Salangor. Yes, if Azizah takes over, chances is Umno will never take back Selangor and other states may also fall to Pakatan.

Changeagent: According to the 2013 letter, the sultan wanted four nominations to make it easier for him to choose the suitable MB.

By nominating Wan Azizah only, PKR and DAP have made the task extremely straightforward for him. After all, she already commands majority support in the state assembly. This is even in spite of PAS' belligerence.

Odin: If the sultan wants four names, do oblige His Royal Highness. The names you can give are 1) Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, 2) Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, 3) Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and 4) Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

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