Broadside Malaysia
Now that it has become public, the question before 25 million
Malaysians is: Who is likely to prevail in a confrontation between
Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the 13-state
Southeast Asian federation's nine hereditary rulers over the
constitutional role of the king. (See In Malaysia, the king asserts
his power)
King Mizan Zainal Abidin, 45, the 13th Yang di Pertuan Agong or
supreme ruler, says his role isn't purely ceremonial. Abdullah,
however, says the king has no right to meddle in his administration.
Last night Raja Nazrin Shah, the crown prince of northern Perak
state, told his audience at a public lecture in Kuala Lumpur, the
national capital, that Abdullah is wrong.
He says that, under the constitution, the monarch acts as a "healthy
check and balance" of Abdullah's administration which has been
undermined by wasteful spending of public funds on mega projects,
rising corruption and lawlessness.
Such talk is worrying Abdullah; particularly when Nazrin says the
constitution allows the rulers to be " the guardian of the just rule
of law, an impartial arbiter in the democratic process and an
overseer over the pillars of state."
Analysts say the rulers are not suggesting that they have the power
to remove Abdullah from office. That would be a coup d'état. But
rather, as Nazrin says, the rulers, who are above partisan politics,
are to act like judges to ensure fairness in resolving conflicts in
governing the country. The Malay rulers see themselves as the
guardian of the welfare of Malaysians.
The 50-year-old Nazrin is seen as the de facto spokesman of the
rulers whose office dictates that they refrain from articulating
their personal views in public. Nazrin, who graduated from Oxford and
Harvard, has been vocal on Malaysian constitutional, social and
economic affairs. He is the eldest son of former king Sultan Raja
Azlan Shah, 79, a constitutional law expert who was also the Lord
President of the Federal Court.
Four years into his first term as prime minister, Abdullah's
popularity has nose-dived after winning an overwhelming mandate in
the 2004 general election. He has broken his electoral promise to
crack down on corruption and to bring reforms to his nation. Instead,
allegations of corruption and abuse of governmental powers have
risen. His 'Mr Clean' image is tarnished by the purchase of a luxury
jet that costs $50 million and a spate of financial scandals
involving projects whose costs have gotten out of hand.
Analysts say he is now perceived as a weak and indecisive leader who
has lost control of his government allowing conflicts in the
judiciary and rivalry among law enforcement officers that look like a
mafia family feud. A spate of gangland slayings and a high profile
murder case have added to Abdullah's woes. And the rulers feel,
constitutionally, they have the powers to make Abdullah correct his
mistakes.
Things came to a head over disagreement between Abdullah and the
rulers over top judicial appointments. Under Malaysia's complex
system of appointing judges, the king must give his consent after the
prime minister has consulted the rulers of his choice. The king had
refused Abdullah's nominee following accusations that Chief Justice
Ahmad Fairuz was promoting lesser and errant judges to high benches.
The adamant Chief Justice told Abdullah to tell the rulers that the
king must do his bidding. A seven-month stalemate ensued over the
appointment of the Chief Judge of Malaya which was resolved only last
week when Abdullah finally yielded to the king.
Now, the rulers want Abdullah to reform the judiciary which has been
disgraced by allegations of impropriety of judges since the judiciary
lost its autonomy after former premier Mahathir Mohamed sacked Salleh
Abas, the Lord President of the Supreme Court, in 1988. One man who
would want Abdullah to restore independence to the judiciary is
Sultan Azlan Shah. He has hinted so much in many of his writings.
But will Abdullah do it?
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