By SK English Team
In the latest effort by civil society to conciliate and speak up for the rights of the Perak people, 66 of Malaysia’s top NGOs have issued a joint statement urging Sultan Azlan Shah to allow fresh polls in the state.
This was the only proper and democratic way to break the current standoff between the Pakatan Rakyat and Umno-Barisan Nasional, they said.
The group of 66 also supported the popular view amongst Perakians that Pakatan Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin was still the legitimate chief minister, and not Umno’s Zambry Kadir.
“We call upon all Malaysians to express support to the above position to affirm parliamentary democracy and the constitutional monarchy,” the group of 66 said.
“We must work together so that good sense may prevail in the Palace, amongst the political elites and the general public. Returning to democratic and constitutional principles is the only way out to ensure political stability and political will to stay focused and deal with the imminent economic recession.”
Monarchy must stay above politics
A recent poll undertaken by the highly-respected Merdeka Centre showed that 74 percent of Perak people want a snap election to break the deadlock weighing on their state.
Perakians are insistent on choosing their own leaders and not have a line-up endorsed by incoming Umno president Najib Abdul Razak forced upon them by their Ruler.
The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and Transparency International have also joined the chorus of public appeals to the Sultan to reconsider his decision not to dissolve the state assembly, as advised by Nizar before he was ‘removed and replaced’ by Zambry.
The group of 66 also warned that arbitrary withholding of royal consent for the dissolution of the state assembly, without proper justification, would only damage Malaysia’s separation of powers between the monarchy and the state.
They held that the appointment of the second state government was ultra-vires and lambasted the use of the police and other state apparatus to protect the new government.
Again they warned, this would only erode public trust for both parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy in Perak and the rest of the country.
“To oust a government, a vote of no-confidence must be carried out on the floor of Parliament or State Legislative Assembly where debates and deliberation may take place,” the group of 66 said.
“Whether or not permissible by the letter of law, audience with the Ruler or statutory declarations cannot be the substitute for a formal no-confidence vote.”
The 66 civil society groups include Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall civil rights committee, Suara Rakyat Malaysia, All Women’s Action Society (Awam), Pertubuhan Jamaah Islam Malaysia (JIM), Selangor Malaysian Indians Association (Mindas).
No comments:
Post a Comment