APABILA TUN MAHATHIR BERSUARA....

Ruler’s consent still necessary, says Dr M January 06, 2011 SHAH ALAM, Jan 6 — The Selangor government has still to obtain the consent of the Sultan of Selangor even after it amends the state constitution to revert authority to the Sultan and mentri besar in the appointment of the state’s top three civil servants, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today. He said the matter would eventually depend on whether the state government obtains the signature of the Sultan or otherwise because without the signature and consent of the Sultan, the amendment would not become law. “The Selangor government requires a two-thirds majority in the state assembly to amend the constitution. I do not know whether they will obtain the two-thirds majority,” he told reporters after delivering the keynote address at a seminar on unity at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) here. Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had said that the state government would convene an emergency session of the state assembly to amend the state constitution to revert to the Sultan and the mentri besar the authority to appoint the state’s top three civil servants, namely the state secretary, state legal adviser and state financial officer. The appointment of Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi, 54, as the new state secretary was disputed by Khalid because he was allegedly not consulted over the appointment. Dr Mahathir also said that he felt that it was not necessary to call the next general election soon although there were what could be regarded as political indicators of impending elections of late. — Bernama