A forum on constitutional monarchy shed some light on the power of the sultan in relation to the state legislative assembly, against the backdrop of developments in Perak.

Organised by the Ikatan Ilmuwan Nasional in Shah Alam yesterday, the session was to educate the public on current issues.

Panellists Abdul Aziz Bari, a law professor at Universiti Islam Antarabangsa, and senior lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah began with a look at state constitutions.

constitutional monarch forum 01032009 05 Abdul Aziz was of the opinion that there are no major differences between state constitutions, as these fall under Schedule 8 of the federal constitution.

However, in the nine states ruled by a sultan, there are related provisions on the royalty, while the menteri besar must be a Malay and Muslim.

“The sultans play a symbolic and ceremonial role. What differentiates them is their power in terms of their role as head of the Islamic faith. Only here can the sultan act without the advice of the government,” he said.

“Last year, Idris (Jusoh’s) nomination as menteri besar (of Terengganu) was opposed by the palace but the rakyat accepted the decision. It is important to have a sultan who is strong in his integrity and morality,” he said.

The sultan can also use his discretionary powers to appoint state executive council members and dissolve the state legislative assembly.

constitutional monarch forum 01032009 04 In pointing to the sultan’s functions as a check-and-balance mechanism, Sulaiman said Malay Rulers have to realise that they are a symbol and cannot be involved in businesses, as this could embarrass the institution of the royalty.

“It is also important for the channels between the sultan and rakyat to be open...if all the institutions don’t function, the rakyat must function.”

Situation in Perak

Commenting on the political impasse in Perak, Abdul Aziz noted that “the wisdom of the people is unanimous”.

He was strongly for dissolution of the state assembly and for state elections to be called, after defections from Pakatan Rakyat allowed Barisan Nasional to hold an equal number of seats together with the support of three Independents.

On the current confusion over the position of Perak menteri besar, he said: “There are two options - legal means or a motion of no confidence.

nizar jamaluddin dr zambry abdul kadir perak “(Mohd) Nizar (Jamaluddin’s) removal should have been done using the second option. The appointment of Zambry (Abdul Kadir) was not legitimate as there was no motion of no confidence against Nizar."

He also said that, as head of the assembly, Perak speaker V Sivakumar had legitimate power to announce the vacancies created by the three assemblypersons early last month.

“The courts cannot interfere and the speaker cannot be simply removed. It is checkmate and stalemate in Perak,” he said.