Why no extradition request for Sirul?

Apparently Jho Low is in a country where he can't be extradited.

Sirul Azhar Umar, however, is in a country where we could ask for him to be extradited. There was even a news report out of the UK that said that Sirul's extradition has been approved. Turns out this wasn't true. But it naturally begs the question: Why hasn't an extradition request been made?

Zahid visits Dr M

An uneasy smile from Zahid. Dr M doesn't even pretend to be enjoying this at all.

So, Zahid Hamidi has visited Dr M. Trying to make peace? Dr M may be diplomatic but he has a good memory.

The Sarawak exodus has begun

This is not unexpected. Apparently, PBB in Sarawak will leave BN. It might not necessarily be a part of Pakatan as there are objections for Pakatan Sarawak about that. But it will probably be a party friendly to Pakatan.

Why? Not because it loves Pakatan per se. It's pragmatism. Nobody wants to be with the losing side.

According to this news report, UMNO acting president Zahid Hamidi pleaded to PBB President Abang Johari Openg (who is also the Sarawak chief minister) not to leave, saying BN would be "hancur" destroyed if PBB were to leave.

Abang Johari's reply was classic. He said PBB that could be destroyed in the 2021 state polls if it did not distance itself from BN’s excesses and corruption.

If PBB goes through with this, that's 13 seats that BN will lose. But that's not the end of it. Once PBB leaves, other BN-affiliated parties in Sarawak will probably leave too, namely Parti Rakyat Sarawak, Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) and Progressive Development Party. The pro-BN United People's Party may also change its mind on whether it wants to continue to be pro-BN.

PBB had won 13 seats, PRS three, PDP two and SUPP won one. That's 19 seats in all, going out the BN window, if they all leave.

Fixed deposit in Sabah already gone. Fixed deposit in Sarawak soon to be gone. Hancur indeed.

This is why politically-controlled papers can't change

Two articles about Utusan. The headlines say it all:

Utusan looks to ‘rebuild from scratch’ with VSS, says report.

We’ll continue defending Malays, Islam, says defiant Utusan editor.

The never ending Perlis saga

Just when you thought it was really over, here's news that the Perlis MB imbroglio will continue.

Apparently, UMNO is trying to have its cake and eat it too. It wants to avoid appearing to defy the ruler by agreeing to his choice of MB but at the same time it wants to take the matter to court because it has the Constitution on its side.

Is it going to concede or does it want the court to force the ruler to concede? UMNO can't seem to make up its mind on the matter.

There is a third possibility which might come to haunt UMNO which is that snap polls are called. If that happens as a result of this imbroglio, UMNO will live to regret it because it could very well lose its control over the state. The good folks of Perlis, as well as the rest of the country (including East Malaysia) have woken up to a new dawn and a new reality, one in which BN is in the opposition at the federal level.

UMNO to stay race-based or go multi-racial... who cares?

Federal Territories Youth chief Razlan Rafii wants UMNO to stay exclusive for Malays only. UMNO Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin is apparently in favour of opening it up to other races.

The big question is not whether UMNO should stay race-based or multi-racial but WHO CARES?

Does it matter if UMNO stays race-based? There are plenty of Malay-dominated parties in Pakatan for those who are still race-inclined to join. And for those who prefer multi-racial parties, most of the Pakatan parties (except one, actually) are at least nominally multi-racial.

Whatever is one's leaning -- race-based or multi-racial -- there is a better option available in the form of Pakatan rather than anything UMNO or BN could offer.

So let them debate whether to open up UMNO to other races. Nobody cares. Nobody wants to join.

Mainstream media fails to give context

TM CEO Shazalli Ramly resigns, reports The Star.

Report: Telekom CEO resigns, Petronas may see departures too, says Malaysiakini, giving some clue as to why. You'll have to read the story to understand the context but the context is given.

Najib’s branding guru resigns as Telekom CEO, says The Malaysian Insight, giving us context in the headline itself.

This is why people still prefer alternative media over mainstream media.

Perlis resolution the opposite of the AG one

The nation breathed a collective sigh of relief when the potential constitutional crisis regarding the AG was resolved with the king accepting Pakatan's choice of Tommy Thomas.

I had written that there was no reason for Dr M to back down. He had the Constitution on his side and Dr M was not one to shirk from a fight, even a Battle Royale with the royalty. It helped that he had overwhelming public support on the issue. Everyone wanted to see the old AG replace by one who is committed to prosecuting those responsible for the 1MDB scandal.

I had also written that BN, despite having the constitution on its side, would eventually back down. And so it has, apparently with all its state reps agreeing to accept the ruler's choice of MB Azlan Man. The reason why UMNO had to back down was that it had fashioned itself as the defender of the royalty. How could it then defy the choice of the royalty? The answer obviously, is that it couldn't.

So, Pakatan gets what it wants and BN doesn't. How the times have changed.

Picking your battles

Dr M will have his way, especially when he's got the Constitution on his side.

I was going to write a piece about how the constitutional crisis that didn't happen but someone else wrote a better version of it so I'll just highlight the salient points of that article, which appeared in The Malaysian Insight. This is not the first time I was beaten to the punch. There are lots of good opinion pieces out there!

If you don't have time to read a full article, here's the gist of it: The royalty made the smart choice not to fight this one out.

If you've only got time for four paragraphs, read the following from the The Malaysian Insight article:

In the final analysis, this was a battle the Malay Rulers could not have won. Not against a PM with the law on his side and popular sentiment in his corner.

The royals played an out-sized role during the Najib Razak years because a weak and scandal-tainted PM ‎ceded space and authority to them during his days in office.

Mahathir 2.0 has too many things on his plate to worry about the Malay Rulers. He has a short runway to complete what is proving to be a gargantuan task of cleaning up Malaysia and finding new streams of economic reforms that bring prosperity to the masses.

The royals need not fear Dr Mahathir. They just must remember not to get in his way when he is exercising powers assigned to the PM by the Federal Constitution.

Nobody's listening to this guy

Poor Zahid. Nobody wants to listen to him.

Zahid Hamidi has called on UMNO and MCA to stop bickering. But nobody's listening to him. That shows how much authority he has over BN. Heck, he can't even get BN's state reps in Perlis to fall in line with his directive that they should accept the ruler's choice of MB there.

UMNO Supreme Council member Tajuddin Abdul Rahman added fuel to the fire saying:

"Where are UMNO’s faults? UMNO tak ada salah, MCA yang salah."

Meanwhile MCA Publicity Bureau Chairman Chai Kim Sen expressed regret at Annuar Musa's incendiary response to Wee Ka Siong's comments relating to the MCA-UMNO relationship:

"This is precisely the type of behaviour that became the impetus of Barisan’s downfall."

And so the bickering has begun. There will always be MCA leaders who are forever prepared to grovel at the feet of UMNO but it seems like Wee is pretty determined to carve a more independent role for MCA than to be UMNO's "little brother". 

There's no reason for Dr M to back down

He's confident he'll get his choice of AG. He has the Constitution on his side.

There is a potential constitutional crisis in the making which dwarfs what's happening in Perlis in terms of importance. But the principles involved are the same. Both touch on the role a ruler plays in a constitutional monarchy.

There is a consensus among constitutional experts when it comes to things like who is selected to become the MB of a state or the PM of the country, it is the party that controls the majority that decides. Yes, the MB and PM must be sworn in by the ruler concerned but that ruler can't really say no if that MB/PM has the support of the majority.

This principle applies to the appointment of an Attorney-General as well. Pakatan has submitted only one name for its choice of AG: Tommy Thomas. But apparently, the king has not agreed to this. This sets up a real potential constitutional crisis if the situation is not resolved.

Dr M is no stranger to battling it out with the royalty. He did it twice in his first stint as PM (and won both times). Is he doing to do it a third time? He might not need to. The various state rulers will be meeting this Tuesday to try to resolve this issue. According to the Malaysian Insight, a simple majority among the rulers will resolve this matter.

Hopefully they will decide to let Pakatan have its preferred AG to avert a constitutional crisis because we know Pakatan will be insistent on this matter. They are united behind this choice of candidate and they know the general public is fully behind them on this matter.

When asked about this matter, the normally blunt Dr M said rather diplomatically:

"Under the Federal Constitution, the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong has to act on the advice of the prime minister. So we are holding to that principle."

He doesn't have to say more really because that statement says it all. The Constitution is clear on this matter. If there is another Battle Royale, it's unlikely that Dr M will lose.

The grovelling has begun

MCA's groveller-in-chief.

Not even a day has passed since I wondered if MCA will ever grow a spine, and I've already gotten my answer.

MCA's sole MP Wee Ka Siong was reported to have said, among other things:

“Everyone's cooperation ended on the day of 509; in the past we faced too many criticisms and grievances, from now on (we) will no longer bear the brunt for UMNO. MCA now decides for itself, should no longer live for others, no longer coordinate with UMNO."

When asked why MCA was not then officially exiting BN, Wee said:

“Is this still important? After 509, Barisan Nasional was utterly defeated, it has ceased to exist except in name.”

UMNO's response has been swift. Since Nazri Aziz has abrogated his role as UMNO's attack dog, Annuar Musa has said MCA "should prepare to buy their own gravestone."

Meanwhile, Deputy Umno Youth chief Senator Khairul Azwan Harun told MCA:

"...if you think that MCA’s future lies apart from UMNO and want to call it quits, go ahead and make the best choice.We can accept it with an open heart."

What's MCA's response? Wee's words might have been misinterpreted.

Says Ti Lian Ker, MCA's publicity spokesman:

"I think...the interview in Sin Chew Daily was different than the translation carried by an online newsportal."

Right. We all feel sorry for abused wives who can't bring themselves to leave but it's hard to feel sorry for MCA.

A bigger constitutional crisis is brewing

Tommy Thomas: our next AG? If Dr M has his way, yes. 

A lot of press coverage has been given to the stand-off in Perlis where the ruler there has chosen an MB which the BN MPs do not support.

The Malaysian Insight has just broken a news story about a potentially bigger constitutional crisis brewing, which is the king's rejection of Pakatan's choice for Attorney General because he is not a Malay/Muslim. According to that story, Tommy Thomas is the unanimous choice of Amanah, Bersatu, DAP, and PKR.

Mainstream media has not reported on this matter yet but Malaysiakini has one story on it quoting a Pakatan source who says that only one name -- Tommy Thomas -- has been submitted to the king, which supports The Malaysian Insight story that Pakatan are not backing down on this matter.

Kadir Jasin, a veteran newsman and the spokesman for the Council of Eminent Persons, has blogged on the matter, saying:

"What's the use of having Malays in high positions if that Malay is cruel, corrupt, and someone who collaborates with thieves and speculators?” 

Kadir goes on to add that integrity was more important than race.

In my previous blog posting about Perlis, I predicted that UMNO will eventually give in and let the ruler have the MB of his choice despite the fact that UMNO has the constitution on its side. The reason is that UMNO has in recent years positioned itself as staunch defenders of the royalty and were quick to label any defiance against the royalty as "derhaka". So there is no way it can sustain its defiance of the Perlis ruler.

The AG situation is a different kettle of fish. The legal principle is the same but the political context is different. But first let's be clear about what the law says on the matter. Lim Wei Jiet, deputy chairman of the Bar Council’s Constitutional Law Committee, provides some clarity on the matter:

Article 145(1) of the federal constitution states that “the YDPA (Yang Di-Pertuan Agong) shall, on the advice of the prime minister, appoint a person who is qualified to be a judge of the Federal Court to be the attorney-general for the federation”.

But doesn't the king have the discretion to ignore the "advice" of the PM? No, says Lim, because we are a constitutional monarchy. According to Lim, article 40(1A) of the federal constitution states that the YDPA in such circumstances must accept and act in accordance with the advice of the prime minister. There is no room for any exercise of discretion.

To drive home his point, Lim highlights the following ruling in Anwar Ibrahim v Perdana Menteri Malaysia & Anor [2010] 3 MLJ 174, where our apex court considered Article 40(1A) and held:

“The YDPA upon being advised by the prime minister on the choice of his candidates must act on such advice. His Majesty does not have any discretion to reject or question the discretion of the prime minister… Reference to the YDPA in the said article of the federal constitution is only a formality by virtue of his majesty being the constitutional monarch. Such a clear demarcation of power and roles between the prime minister and the YDPA in matters of appointment and revocation of ministerial posts is imperative in order to realise the role of collective responsibility of the cabinet ministers.”

So what happens if the king refuses to Pakatan's pick of AG? Well, if history is any guide, let's just say Dr M doesn't mind taking on the royalty. Not only has he got the full support of all component parties in Pakatan for his choice of Tommy Thomas as AG, public opinion is also overwhelmingly in favour of prosecuting the people behind the 1MDB scandal and other crimes and misdemeanours. They want an AG who is credible.