BN government has no respect for the constitution

When the constitution is very clear about appointments of State
Government Civil service, BN government had ignored this very
important aspect of parliamentary democracy and law and order. What is
sad is that the Sultan is involved as well. This means that the Sultan
can be taken to the Counsil of Rulers for violating the constitution
and if the Council of Rulers do not rule according to the spirit and
letter of the constitution, the entire Sultanate institution is put
into question. Nobody is above the constitution. Not even the
Sultans.

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=553604

December 31, 2010 20:06 PM

Khusrin's Appointment Should Not Be Disputed - Political Analyst

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- The appointment of Datuk Mohd
Khusrin Munawi as the new Selangor State Secretary should not be
dipsuted by the state government because all civil servants are always
required to have high level of integrity and professionalism in
discharging their duties, said a local political analyst.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) political science lecturer
Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Nizamuddin said the Selangor government's
allegation that the appointment of the former Selangor Islamic
Religious Council (Jais) director as the new state secretary was made
based on Barisan Nasional's (BN) political interest, was just a
baseless interpretation.

"The allegation lacks basis because Mohd Khusrin has yet to start his
new duties and the appointment will only take effect on Jan 1. So,
such assumptions cannot be accepted," he told Bernama.

Therefore, he said, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)-led government's
dissatisfaction over the matter was indeed baseless.

In fact, he said, the PKR government in Selangor felt challenged as
the appointment was made without their knowledge.

The state government led by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim
recently announced that the appointment of Mohd Khusrin, which
received the consent of the Sultan of Selangor, had yet to be
finalised because the state government was not informed.

Ahmad Nizamuddin said Abdul Khalid should realise that such a
situation usually happened when the state government was controlled by
a party which could not see eye-to-eye with the Federal government.

He said the appointment would not cause any problem as the Federal
government must have mulled over the consequences of the action.

He also believed that as a civil servant with integrity, Mohd Khusrin
would give priority to the principles of professional practice in
discharging his duties.

"If we stick to the elements of professionalism, independence and
separation of powers, the appointment will not cause any problem," he
said.

Section 52(1) of the Selangor Constitution 1959 clearly states that
there shall be constituted the offices of State Secretary, State Legal
Adviser and State Financial Officer, and the appointments thereto
shall be made by the appropriate Service Commission from amongst
members of any of the relevant public services.

Meanwhile, prominent historian Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay
Kim said the appointment could not be stopped by the state government
as it was allowed by the Federal Constitution.

He said if the Selangor government was dissatisfied with the Federal
government's appointed candidate, they should realise that the matter
could only be solved in court.

This is because the Federal Constitution is the highest law of the
land and that other laws found to be in conflict with the Constitution
are null and void, he said.

Malaysian Government Pensioners' Association president Datuk Paduka
Raja Wan Mahmood Pawan Teh said after 53 years of Independence,
Malaysian civil servants had made much progress in their ability to
administer and that the country's civil service had become an
exemplary model to many other developing countries.

He said despite the outcome of the March 8, 2008 general election,
civil servants had kept the government machinery running smoothly even
while most politicians were anxious of what lay ahead when the
administration of four of the 13 states were taken over by the
opposition.

"During the trials and turbulence of the struggle for political power
in Perak, the civil service remained unperturbed, carrying on their
duties as usual.

"One cannot imagine what the situation could have been if the civil
servants had taken sides in party politicking and joining in the
scramble for power," he said.

He said politicians "come and go" but civil servants remained
steadfast in their loyalty to the King and country.

Wan Mahmood also hoped that civil servants would not be swayed by any
political carrots and that it was equally important for politicians to
realise that it was for the good that the existing civil service
culture be kept sacrosanct.

-- BERNAMA

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