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Chief Minister

The Sultan of Perak then appointed Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir from Barisan Nasional to fill in the vacant position and be the next Chief Minister. Nizar claimed that there should be a fair free election since this country practices democracy, and for that announced he refused to resign and therefore, the appointment of Dr. Zambry was null and void. The High Court held that the dismissal and appointment made by the Sultan of Perak was unlawful and an unconstitutional one and that Nizar has always been the rightful head of government.

The Court of Appeal however held that the action taken by the Sultan was legally valid and certainly followed the State Constitution. According to the Perak Constitution, the Sultan has two options in settling a conflict of lost confidence; which is either to dissolve the state assembly or appoint a new Chief Minister. The Sultan in this case did the latter. Such discretion is a Royal Prerogative. The Sultan is not subject to recommendation or approval of any other person while making the new appointment of Chief Minister.

The difference between the organizational structure of samsung company and Stephen Kalong Ningkan case is, the Perak Constitution has no exact statement of means of vote of confidence, which makes the action taken by the Sultan is constitutional and valid while the appointment of Dr. Zambry is also valid and Mohd Nizar must tender resignation. This would also mean that it follows the definition of Rule of Law on absolute supremacy of the law on grounds the dismissal was lawful.

Conclusion With all the definitions and constitutional crisis discussed, it all comes down to one question; to what extent does Rule of Law exists in Malaysia? It is with no doubt that our country is a democratic country which is against arbitrariness and upholds the supremacy of our constitution. However with constitutional crisis that has happened, this shows that the Rule of Law exists merely on the surface of it.

Our judges need to be prepared to enter the fray in the struggle of persevering the human rights and fundamental liberties. Only then we can say Malaysia is grounded on Rule of Law. Without justice, the democracy we practiced would mean nothing but just a concept. There is a need for all Malaysians to understand and appreciate the importance of the rule of law and to be vigilant that it prevails in this country. Without the rule of law, there can be no justice.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Ewer .