I find it fascinating that Lim Kit Siang had come out with a statement claiming that the appointment of the cabinet minsters and their deputies was illegal since the senators had not been sworn in.

Let’s revisit the federal constitution.

Article number: 43

( 1) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint a Jemaah Menteri (Cabinet of Ministers) to advise him in the exercise of his functions.

(2) The Cabinet shall be appointed as follows, that is to say -

(a) the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint as Perdana Menteri (Prime Minister) to preside over the Cabinet a member of the House of Representative who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House; and

(b) he shall on the advice of the Prime Minister appoint other Menteri (Ministers) from among the members of either House of Parliament but if an appointment is made while parliament is dissolved a person who was a member of the last House of Representatives may be appointed but shall not continue to hold office after the beginning of the next session of Parliament unless, if he has been appointed Prime Minister, he is a member of the new House of Representatives, and in any other case he is a member either of that House or of the Senate.

Article number: 43a

(1) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may on the advice of the Prime Minister appoint Deputy Ministers from among the members of either House of Parliament; but if an appointment is made while Parliament is dissolved a person who was a member of the last House of Representatives may be appointed but shall not hold office after the beginning of the next session of Parliament unless he is a member either of that House or of the Senate.

On both instances above, the key phrase is “but if an appointment is made while Parliament is dissolved... but shall not hold office after the beginning of the next session of Parliament unless he is a member either of that House or of the Senate”

Really, do you need to be a rocket scientist to figure out this? The Parliament is indeed dissolved and neither of the Houses has convened or will until all the appointments have been made, so what is so illegal about the appointments?  

With due respect to Lim Kit Siang, I find this a below-the-belt attempt for a lifetime politician with such specious reasoning.     

It may not be his fault but he is still ill-advised by his exuberant legal eagles to make such a callous statement without actual substance.

As for our fellow Malaysians, please educate and enrich yourself with a reasonable amount of knowledge and sound common sense before blindly jumping into the bandwagon, whether it is BN/Pakatan.