'Parliamentary democracy will collapse'

 

The parliamentary democracy system in Malaysia will "collapse" if the majority party is unable to choose its own nominee for the Selangor menteri besar position, warned electoral watchdog Bersih today.

Its chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah said if an "unelected body" chooses the head of government, the nation's future after the 14th general election will be uncertain.

"Bersih 2.0 calls upon all parties to respect the rules of the game, enshrined not only in the established Westminster constitutional conventions, but also explicitly in Selangor state constitution which stipulates that any assemblyperson must ‘command the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly’.

"We remind all parties that what is at stake in the Selangor menteri besar crisis is not about who is the best candidate for the chief executive office.

"It is about whether our parliamentary democracy – the very basis of our constitutional monarchy - can continue to function, not only now for Selangor but possibly also at the federal level after the next election," she added in a statement.

She said that "extra-constitutional means" may be attractive to all parties in a prolonged power struggle, while forgetting that the whole episode might destabilise the nation.

Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah is slated to appoint a new menteri besar on Tuesday, but it is widely expected that the new MB will not be PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is PKR and DAP's choice for the post.

Wan Azizah also has 30 signed statutory declarations by state assemblypersons backing her in the 56-member state assembly.

Speculation is rife that PKR deputy president Azmin Ali may be appointed.