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Difficult to curb Malay rulers but I try, says Dr Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR — It will be difficult to solve the problem of interference from the Malay rulers in government affairs but Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said it can be done if the government has two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad says it is not easy to rein in the Malay rulers, but he will try nonetheless.

Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad says it is not easy to rein in the Malay rulers, but he will try nonetheless.

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KUALA LUMPUR — It will be difficult to solve the problem of interference from the Malay rulers in government affairs but Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said it can be done if the government has two-thirds majority in Parliament.

“It is a difficult problem, I must say, but I try,” the prime minister said in an interview with The Star on Monday (April 22).

He said he had done that (amending the constitution) to curtail the powers of the rulers in 1993 but the difference then was that the government had a two-thirds majority.

“We do not have a two-thirds majority (now). We need the support of the opposition in order to amend the laws. And the opposition is not always forthcoming,” he said.

Saying that he was not anti-royalty, Dr Mahathir said part of the problem regarding continued interference from the palace in government affairs was due to administrators and politicians failing to say to the rulers, “this is wrong”.

“We find reluctance on the part of everyone to point out that this is wrong.

“For example, if the ruler takes land, confiscates land and all that, this has to go through the administrative process. The administrators dare not refuse. So, land has been taken away from the people, wrong things were done — things that were against the law.

“But the enforcers, the executive wing, will not do anything. They will just comply. Because of that, at the moment, there is a government that (is) almost not democratic.”

He also said there are cases of state executive papers having to be endorsed by the palace when it should not be allowed.

“It is the mentality of the people that this is sacrosanct and this is something above us and we cannot say no, even if wrong things are done.

“I have tried to correct before but they have gone backwards. For example, we set up a special court for the rulers. It was only used once (since 1993) but after that, it has never been used.

“Suppose, somebody has been punched, it does not got to the court, even though they make reports. People think they will get into trouble if they do not comply,” he added.

He attributed this to a combination of fear and respect.

“There is some inherent fear that something will happen to them if they carry out their work and they try to avoid it. For example, if somebody is hit by a member of the royalty, instead of taking it to courts, they try to cover up.”

To overcome this situation, the prime minister said he is trying to solve the failure by following the federal constitution but admitted he is facing challenges in that effort too.

He referred to the way the Rome Statute issue was handled, especially by the Malay rulers, forcing the government to withdraw from ratifying the treaty.

Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar driving Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to the Johor airport after a meeting on January 10. The two leaders are most recently involved in a spat on the Rome Statute. Photo: The Malaysian Insight

“I have been blackened by other things such as (what was) done on the Rome Statute. To blacken my name so that I would not be influential, so that I can be overthrown. This is ongoing.

“We should actually take action over such things but then again, we have a problem of implementation because the agencies of the government are often reluctant to do anything. They look the other way.”

Dr Mahathir also touched on the royalty being involving in businesses when they have been told from the time of Tunku Abdul Rahman that they could not do business.

“There is some evidence (that) they (the royalty) allow their names to be used by private business people as a front.

“I think some have direct investment but we ourselves are in the wrong because we do not expose these things and take action.”

He also said that the rulers are assuming more power than what was given to them under the constitution, pointing out at the appointment of a new chief justice to replace Mr Richard Malanjum.

“I always imagined that the King is the person who must approve all senior appointments but somehow or rather, there is the reference to the Conference of Rulers. Now, it is not just the King but it also has to go to the rulers.

“I don’t know what it means. The decision made cannot be altered unless there is a valid reason. We have made a decision (on the chief justice) and sent it to the King. At this moment, I still have not received any confirmation of the candidacy.” THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT

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