As minister, Nancy is answerable, says don

 

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri is merely trying to "save her own skin" in the row over her parliamentary reply on government action against Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali, a law expert says.

"Nancy is trying to save her skin by disowning the statement on Ibrahim Ali, but she forgot she was speaking as a minister, not as an MP or as a private citizen," constitutional law expert Professor Abdul Aziz Bari said today.

“As a member of the cabinet, Nancy is bound by the principle of collective responsibility.

"She can't point her finger at the Attorney-General's (AG) Chambers, even though that may be (what the AG Chambers had said)," Aziz told Malaysiakini.

Nancy kicked up a firestorm with her parliamentary reply on the government's inaction against Ibrahim for calling for copies of the Malay Bible with the word 'Allah' to be burned.

She later claimed she was merely quoting the AG's Chambers when she replied that no action would be taken because Ibrahim's action was "defending Islam".

To date, no action has been taken against Ibrahim or his pressure group Perkasa for their call early last year to burn the Malay Bible over the 'Allah' row.

"Let's burn.... let's teach them a lesson," reads the flyer Perkasa distributed at that time.

'Nancy, state your stand'

“The policy of Prime Minister Najib Razak's government on sedition is clear, and Nancy as a member of the cabinet is bound by that.

"There are no two ways about it. That is what the constitution says in Article 43(3): that the cabinet must be collectively responsible to Parliament," Aziz said.

He said Nancy must now make it clear whether she agrees with the policy or not.

“There is no room for personal opinion here. It appears that she has, through the Facebook of the officer, indicated her disagreement with the cabinet.

“As such, she must either resign or be sacked by Najib. Nancy can't have the best of the two worlds; disagree with the policy but remais as a minister to enjoy the salary and all the perks.

"The PM must show clear leadership on the policy here; he can't flip-flop,” he said.

Aziz is also among many who have been hauled up under the Sedition Act recently, in his case over two articles published in online news reports.

The Commission for Human Rights (Suhakam) has also slammed the government for selectively using the Sedition Act against critics and opposition leaders, but not other groups who repeatedly make inflammatory and racial remarks.