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Maria J. Dass and Giam Say Khoon at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday
Nazri: It’s King’s sole
discretion to appoint PM
THE appointment of prime
ministers in Malaysia, under
Article 40 (2) of the Federal
Constitution, is at the sole
discretion of the King and
cannot be disputed, says
Minister in the Prime Min-
ister’s Department Datuk
Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul
Aziz.
He said this after Gobind
Singh Deo (DAP-Pu-
chong) asked whether the
government would abolish
the present system of choos-
ing the prime minister and
adopt a system whereby
the people of all races can
choose the PM, like in the
United States.
Nazri said Malaysia
goes by the Constitutional
Monarchy and democratic
parliamentary system mod-
elled after the Westminster
in the United Kingdom.
“Our prime minister is
a member of the Dewan
Rakyat who commands
authority over the majority
members of the House and
in Malaysia’s case the leader
of Parti Perikatan, now
known as Barisan Nasional,
has been administering the
country since independ-
ence.
“We have a different
system from the Americans
which allows citizens to vote
for their president directly
every four years. Usually,
presidents of nations are
elected directly but this is
not the case for a prime
minister,” he added.
He said Malaysians know
the present system and that
their ballot indirectly elects
the premier.
A heated debate ensued
when Gobind raised doubts
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on the capability of the
system to ensure that the
candidates for prime minis-
ter are free of any doubts or
scandals.
Raising allegations
against Deputy Prime Min-
ister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul
Razak’s link to the Altantuya
Shaariibuu murder, Gobind
said he had not been inves-
tigated despite being a key
witness in the case.
“This was acknowledged
by investigating officer Supt
Gan Tack Guan during the
sedition trial of blogger Raja
Petra Kamaruddin, and
Gan is incidentally also the
investigating officer for the
Altantuya murder,” he said,
as backbenchers protested.
Nazri replied: “In Malay-
sia, a person is innocent un-
til proven guilty in court. So,
in this case, what is raised is
merely speculation.”
“Speculation, rumours
and allegations cannot in-
fluence our decision which
has to be based on strong
evidence against an indi-
vidual,” he said.
Mohd Nor Othman
(BN-Hulu Terengganu)
then said Gobind’s question
on whether the prime min-
ister can be elected directly
by the people is an infringe-
ment on the Constitution
and denies the King’s right
to appoint the PM.
Nazri replied: “This is
their problem, they are
fighting for ketuanan rakyat
(people’s power) where the
rakyat is to replace the mon-
archy. When we talk about
Malay supremacy, we are
not saying that the Malays
are more powerful than
the Chinese or Indians. We
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‘Buy PLUS shares, make
highways toll-free after 2015’
DAP has proposed that the government
make a general offer to acquire all minor-
ity shares of North-South Expressway
(NSE) concessionaire PLUS Expressways
Bhd and make the highway toll-free after
2015.
Economic adviser to the DAP secre-
tary-general Teh Chi Chang said since the
government via Khazanah, a government-
linked company, owns 65% of PLUS, which
is listed on Bursa Malaysia at a price of
RM2.88 per share, the government can
make a general offer to acquire all minor-
ity shares with a generous 15% premium
at RM3.30 per share, costing RM5.25 bil-
lion to ensure that the shareholders are
protected.
He said the cost of acquisition added
to the RM8.5 billion net debt of PLUS by
the government will amount to RM13.75
billion.
“This cost can be funded by issuing
Malaysian Government Securities (MGS
bond) at 3% interest (or lower) and the
total repayment will amount to RM16.2
billion (principle plus interest) over six
years.
“At the same time, PLUS should gener-
ate at least RM20 billion in net positive
cash flow in six years (until 2015) without
further toll rate hikes and a conservative
3% per annum traffic growth,” he told a
press conference in Parliament lobby with
DAP information chief Tony Pua (DAP-
Petaling Jaya Utara) and Teo Nie Ching
(DAP-Serdang).
Teh said therefore by 2015, the govern-
ment can completely repay the MGS and
still have RM3.8 billion excess which could
be used to build a better public transpor-
tation system throughout the country.
Pua said the party’s proposal to the
are acknowledging that the federal government will not impose
Kings and Sultans are heads further increase in the NSE toll rates and
of their respective states.”
Raising a Point of Order,
Gobind accused Nazri of
insinuating that the Pakatan
Rakyat wanted to overthrow
Nine CBT cases against
the King and Sultans and
accused him of evoking un-
lawyers in court
easiness amongst the races. NINE cases for alleged criminal breach
This jolted the backbenchers of trust involving lawyers had been
into a fury. brought to court to date, says Minister
Deputy Speaker Ronald in the Prime Minister’s Department
Kiandee then interrupted Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul
saying that he did not think it Aziz.
was the minister’s intention He said all the nine cases were
to incite anyone and allowed among 294 cases received and inves-
Nazri to continue answering tigated by the police between 1995
the questions raised. and 2008.
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create about RM14 billion savings for
Malaysians from 2009-2015.
“(With no more toll rate hikes until
2015,) a return KL-Penang journey will
remain at RM86.60 today instead of
RM115.30 in 2015 and RM168.80 by 2030.
The proposal will allow the collection of
toll only until 2015 and incur no additional
cost for the Malaysian government or the
people,” he said.
Pua said the RM14 billion saved will
reduce the cost of living for average
Malaysians in times of economic difficul-
ties and redirect expenditure to other
more productive sectors of the country’s
economy by increasing domestic con-
sumer demand.
“The reduced toll rates and subsequent
abolition will substantially reduce the cost
of doing business in Malaysia, increase
logistical efficiencies and ultimately make
Malaysian companies more globally com-
petitive.
“The plan will also stimulate demand
and make available substantial funds for
public infrastructure development with-
out the government having to increase
the precarious budget deficit further,” he
added.
Pua said the party hoped that the
Finance Ministry and Works Ministry will
include the proposal in the mini budget
set to be announced on March 10 for the
benefit of the government and people.
He also urged Works Minister Datuk
Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed to declare the
compensation promised to the conces-
sionaires for the abolition of the Salak Jaya
toll operated by Besraya (M) Sdn Bhd and
PJS2 (Kuala Lumpur-bound) toll of the New
Pantai Expressway recently.
“We want to see if the compensation
involved is equivalent to the tolls that
would have been collected,” he said.
The existing provisions under the
Legal Profession Act 1976 and the
Penal Code were sufficient to curb
malpractices by lawyers, he said in
response to a question by Datuk Seri
Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu).
He said lawyers who did not adhere
to regulations on their profession also
faced disciplinary action by the Bar
Council. – Bernama
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