Analisis: Penghakiman Kes Nizar lwn. Zambry

1. Apakah Penghakiman Mahkamah Tinggi Mengenai Arahan Meletak Jawatan MB Oleh Sultan Perak?

Hakim Mahkamah Tinggi, Yang Arif Dato’ Abdul Aziz Abd. Rahim menyatakan bahawa seseorang MB:

a. Tidak memegang jawatan atas perkenan Sultan;

However, bearing in mind that once a mentri besar is appointed, he does not hold office at the pleasure of the Sultan — Article 16(7)1

b. Hanya bertanggungjawab kepada Dewan Negeri (dan tidak kepada Sultan);

Reading the 3 clauses together, it seems that once appointed as mentri besar, the mentri besar is only answerable to the DUN and the mentri besar governs the state and advises HRH under Article 18.1

c. Tidak boleh dipecat oleh Sultan.

The mentri besar cannot be dismissed by HRH.1

2. Apakah Hujah Yang Diterima Oleh Hakim Untuk Membuktikan MB Tidak Memegang Jawatan Atas Perkenan Sultan?

Yang Arif Dato’ Abdul Aziz memetik dua hujah untuk membuktikan bahawa seseorang MB tidak memegang jawatan atas perkenan Sultan:

a. Artikel 16 (7) Undang-Undang Tubuh Kerajaan Perak Darul Ridzuan;

However, bearing in mind that once a mentri besar is appointed, he does not hold office at the pleasure of the Sultan — Article 16(7)1

b. Penghakiman kes Datuk (Datu) Amir Kahar bin Tun Datu Haji Mustapha v Tun Mohd Said bin Keruak & 8 Ors [1995] CLJ 184;

I do not agree with this submission. Except for the mentri besar, everyone else holds office at HRH’s pleasure. Clause 7 says that clearly.

There is a qualifier that says when the mentri besar loses the majority, he shall tender the exco’s resignation.

Refer to Amir Kahar — it does not support the AG submission. It is distinguishable on its own facts.1

3. Benarkah Penghakiman Kes Amir Kahar Menyatakan Bahawa MB Tidak Memegang Jawatan Atas Perkenan Sultan?

Tidak.

Yang Arif Dato’ Abdul Aziz menyatakan bahawa ahli-ahli Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan (MMK) (juga digelar Exco), kecuali MB, memegang jawatan atas perkenan Sultan:

Except for the mentri besar, everyone else holds office at HRH’s pleasure. Clause 7 says that clearly.1

Yang Arif Dato’ Abdul Aziz memperkuat hujah dengan merujuk kes Amir Kahar yang menyatakan apabila MB kehilangan kepercayaan majoriti, beliau ‘hanya perlu menyerahkan perletakan jawatan Exco’ dan bukan jawatan MB yang dipegang oleh beliau:

There is a qualifier that says when the mentri besar loses the majority, he shall tender the exco’s resignation.

Refer to Amir Kahar — it does not support the AG submission. It is distinguishable on its own facts.1

Walau bagaimanapun, penghakiman kes Amir Kahar sebenarnya dengan jelas menyatakan bahawa perletakan jawatan Exco yang dimaksudkan adalah termasuk jawatan MB itu sendiri.

Berikut ialah petikan penghakiman kes Datuk Amir Kahar Tun Mustapha v Tun Mohamed Said Keruak [1994] 3 MLJ 737:

…once a Chief Minister in fact knows that he has lost the confidence of a majority of the members of the Assembly, he should not wait for a vote of confidence to be formally tabled in the Assembly but should immediately take the honourable way out by tendering the resignation of his Cabinet. Under the circumstances, if the Chief Minister refuses or does not tender the resignation of the members of the Cabinet which includes himself, or if he tenders the resignation of himself alone, the fact remains that the Cabinet is dissolved on account of him losing the confidence of a majority of the members of the Assembly and it is not necessary, therefore, for the Yang di-Pertua Negeri as a last resort to remove the Chief Minister and the other members of his Cabinet. This is not only the effect of Art. 7(1) of the Constitution but it is the established convention.

Berikut pula ialah petikan-petikan penghakiman kes Datuk (Datu) Amir Kahar bin Tun Datu Haji Mustapha v Tun Mohd Said bin Keruak & 8 Ors [1995] CLJ 184:

…it is my judgment that to establish that a Chief Minister ceases to command the confidence of a majority of the members of the Assembly for purposes of Article 7(1) of the Sabah Constitution it need not necessarily be dependent upon the actual motion to be tabled in the State Legislative Assembly. It may be available from sources outside the Legislative Assembly depending on the circumstances of each case. In this case, based on the circumstances presented to it, the Court is satisfied that the resignation of Datuk Pairin as the Chief Minister on 17 March 1994 is a resignation pursuant to him ceasing to command such a confidence.

…that if the Chief Minister does not tender the resignation of the other members of his cabinet wherein the Cabinet is to be treated as dissolved under the circumstances envisaged by Article 7(1) of the Constitution, their offices are deemed to have been vacated.

Penghakiman kes Amir Kahar juga telah memperinci apa yang perlu dibuat apabila seseorang MB kehilangan kepercayaan majoriti ahli Dewan Negeri:

a. MB hendaklah meletak jawatan serta-merta tanpa perlu menunggu usul undi tidak percaya dibentangkan di Dewan Negeri;

b. Kabinet atau ahli Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan (Exco) hendaklah meletak jawatan serta-merta tanpa perlu menunggu usul undi tidak percaya dibentangkan di Dewan Negeri;

c. Jika MB dan Exco beliau tidak meletakkan jawatan, maka barisan Exco dianggap bubar.

The nation expects that a Minister who cannot retain the confidence of the House of Commons, shall give up his place, and no Premier even dreams of dissapointing these expectations.

– AV Dicey, The Law of the Constitution