‘Nay’ to proposal to suspend reps facing charges
o Proposal will affect political system, say analysts and lawyers
PETALING JAYA: Elected representatives should not be suspended once they are charged in court as suggested by Dewan Negara Speaker Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim, political analysts and lawyers said yesterday.
They said the de facto law minister’s proposal will not only deny elected representatives their right to exercise their duties until they have exhausted all avenues of appeal, but also could adversely affect our political system.
“If this suggestion were to be implemented, it would be a convenient tool for the government to reduce the number of opposition lawmakers,” political scientist Professor Wong Chin Huat said.
“We can’t treat elected representatives and civil servants similarly since government staffers face a single employer while elected representatives have many individual bosses – voters.”
His other argument is that the civil service is a large institution where vacancies can be readily filled while every constituency in Malaysia has only one representative.
“This is why the power to suspend or sack representatives must lie with voters and not by rivals who may abuse the Attorney-General’s Chambers. This can be done by introducing by-elections through which voters can sack lawmakers upon conviction.”
Rais Yatim had recently questioned why civil servants must be suspended if charged in court while the rule did not apply to elected representatives.
“There is a need to think of measures outside the legal system, as we currently have no answer to this,” said Rais.
Constitutional lawyer V. Kokila Vaani points to Article 48(1) of the Federal Constitution, which states that members of parliament are disqualified if convicted of an offence, sentenced to a jail term of more than a year and fined more than RM2,000.
“But Article 48 (4)(b) states that even if convicted, as long as an elected representative files an appeal within 14 days, his seat will not fall vacant.
“Elections are the best avenue for voters to punish incumbents who misbehave and select representatives who best represent their values.”
On politicians in some countries such as Japan stepping down merely due to an accusation of wrongdoing, she said resignation from office is a critical ethical decision which could be driven by a variety of reasons.
In 2019, Japan’s former trade minister Isshu Sugawara and former justice minister Katsuyuki Kawai stepped down after allegations that they had sent cantaloupes and potatoes to some constituents.
Chief executive officer of Berjaya University College Dr See Hoon Peow said under Malaysia’s legal system, one is assumed innocent until proven guilty, hence a mere accusation without proof should not cause a public representative to step down.
“However, when a scandal has started to affect a public representative’s effectiveness in executing his duties, he should step down as practised in Japan.”