The attorney-general cannot represent Putrajaya in its suit to dispute the decision of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in rejecting the cabinet’s advice to declare an emergency in the country, said Mukhriz Mahathir.
In a statement, the Pejuang president said Attorney-General Idris Harun, who advised the government on seeking emergency power, could not be trusted to defend the king’s decision to reject it.
“As the legal adviser to the government, of course, the attorney-general will represent Putrajaya to answer the questions raised in the suit,” he said.
“Isn’t that a conflict of interest? How can the A-G who prepared the arguments to justify the emergency now defend the king who rejected the declaration?”
Mukhriz was referring to the suit filed by lawyer Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar against the Malaysian government on October 28.
“The suit looks strange and raises a lot of questions.
“I hope the lawyer and the Malaysian government as defendants can give an explanation,” Mukhriz added.
Syed Iskandar was quoted by the media as saying that he was not “suing” the Yang di-Pertuan Agong but merely asking for a court explanation on the monarch’s powers according to the federal constitution.
The action of the originating suit, he said, asked the court’s opinion on whether the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had acted in accordance with the powers available to him when he did not agree to the advice of the cabinet for the declaration of emergency.
On October 25, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah rejected Putrajaya’s request for emergency powers to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said after discussing the request with the Conference of Malay Rulers, the Agong was of the view the federal government’s measures to fight the pandemic have been effective.
Previously, after a special cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin presented the king with the Perikatan Nasional government’s proposal for an emergency, purportedly to address the deepening Covid-19 crisis that has plagued the country.
Budget 2021 is set to be tabled later in the week on November 6.
Critics charge the prime minister with wanting to avoid potentially having his government toppled by MPs and hold on to power by calling an emergency, which would see Parliament suspended. – TMI