The ruler should hold a referendum by calling up each state assembly member to see who best fits the post, says law expert.
Nine BN assembly members were not present when Azlan Man took his oath of office. (Bernama pic)
GEORGE TOWN: A constitutional law expert believes that the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail, may have to start afresh in choosing a new menteri besar, after a majority of state assembly members rejected his choice.
Azlan Man of Barisan Nasional was named yesterday to a second term as menteri besar, and he took his oath of office before the ruler this morning. However, nine other BN assembly members did not attend, and the others present were the five opposition members.
Ismail Kassim, brother of former menteri besar Shahidan Kassim, is often named as the choice of the nine assembly members.
BN holds 10 seats in the 15-member state assembly, PKR (3) and PAS, two.
Constitutional lawyer Gurdial Singh Nijar said a vote ought to be held among the BN assembly members.
Gurdial said the Perlis situation was similar to that in Perak in 2009, when the late Sultan Azlan Shah interviewed all assembly members separately to hear their views on who should be appointed.
“If nine out of 15 members are unhappy with the decision to choose Azlan, then it is a majority. In the light of this, the ruler has to go back to the drawing board, to ascertain whether Azlan enjoys the confidence of the majority,” he told FMT.
Gurdial said if the Raja of Perlis maintained his appointment of Azlan, there could be a repeat of the 2009 Perak crisis.
He said the next step would be a no-confidence motion against Azlan at the next state assembly sitting. “If the motion is passed, then they would have to revert to the Raja of Perlis.”
Gurdial said the Raja of Perlis could follow the Perak example, where Sultan Azlan Shah chose Zambry Abdul Kadir of BN after three opposition members switched sides, leaving the assembly with 28 Pakatan members, 28 BN members and three BN-friendly independents.
The sultan ordered Pakatan Rakyat’s Nizar Jamaluddin and his executive council to resign and invited Zambry to form the new Perak state government. This led to Nizar taking Zambry to court, with the Federal Court ultimately holding in favour of Zambry as the legitimate menteri besar.
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