MACC, Petronas should be under Parliament
SHAH ALAM - The Yang di-Pertuan Agong still has the authority to know, see or make recommendations on issues involving Petronas and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) even though both institutions are under Parliament.
Legal and constitutional expert Professor Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmood said the matter was part of His Majesty's function as Head of State under the Federal Constitution and the Constitutional Convention to obtain information in all forms of processes and also the powers that exist in the government.
In fact, he said, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is also part of the institution of Parliament because His Majesty approves the Bill before it is gazetted, thus having a voice on all matters presented and can request information on matters discussed in Parliament.
In this regard, Nik Ahmad Kamal said it was appropriate to maintain both important institutions of the country under the Parliament, taking into account the interests of the people and the country based on the principle of government accountability under article 43 of the Constitution.
However, he said if there was a request for MACC and Petronas to be placed under the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, it would be necessary to amend the Federal Constitution.
"So, to amend either the MACC or Petronas or both to be placed under the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Constitution, the MACC Act and also Petronas needs to be amended by placing special provisions to authorise His Majesty to exercise executive powers over both these two institutions.
"The Yang di-Pertuan Agong exercises His Majesty's authority on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet enshrined in article 40 of the Constitution except as otherwise stated in the Constitution.
"The constitutional amendment is important to clarify the power and scope of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for Petronas and the MACC. If there is no need (want) to amend the Constitution, amendments must be made to the existing act involving the two institutions," he told Sinar yesterday.
He said this when asked to comment on the statement of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the order of the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar who wanted MACC and Petronas to report directly to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong should not be taken lightly.
Recently, Sultan Ibrahim in an interview with a Singapore newspaper reportedly said that he wanted more responsibility to be given to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong including direct monitoring of MACC and Petronas compared to Parliament.
Commenting further, Nik Ahmad Kamal said, fundamentally, the proposal to place the two important institutions under the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was seen as quite complicated.
He said this was because any amendment to the Constitution and also laws related to MACC and Petronas needed to go through an in-depth study to identify the overall implications for the institution and also the implications for the System of Constitutional Monarchs under the Federal Constitution.
On Oct 27, Sultan Ibrahim was elected as the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a period of five years effective from 31 January until 2024.
The Keeper of the Rulers' Seal Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad in a statement said that the election was made at the 263rd (Special) Meeting of the Council of Kings at the Istana Negara.
