SPOT ON AMBIGA: Leadership vacuum is why despot Dr M leads again

KUALA LUMPUR - With the nation suffering a leadership vacuum, Malaysians have begun looking to former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad as their leader once again, says former Malaysian Bar president and human rights activist Ambiga Sreenevasan.

“That’s the tragedy for me,” Ambiga said, as reported by the Malay Mail.

She said that Mahathir enjoyed a freedom of speech, which other Malaysians, including herself, lack under the present government, adding that despite his constant criticism of the government, especially on issues surrounding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Mahathir has yet to be arrested or even threatened with arrest.

Ambiga claimed, however, that the present issues plaguing the country can be traced back to when Mahathir was in power. She said that during his tenure the Malaysian Bar had repeatedly warned him not to undermine the institutions of government but to no avail.

One of the biggest transgressions attributed to Mahathir was the judicial crisis of 1988, when Mahathir’s government brought charges of misconduct against then Lord President Salleh Abas.

The crisis saw five Supreme Court judges who heard a stay application filed by Salleh suspended. Two of them, Wan Suleiman Pawanteh and George Seah, along with Salleh, were eventually removed from office.

Amendments made at the time to the Federal Constitution also saw the courts divested of “judicial power of the Federation.”

It was instead conferred “jurisdiction and powers as may be conferred by or under federal law,” which effectively put the courts under the control of parliament.

Mahathir last Saturday claimed that Salleh’s removal was done at the behest of the late Sultan Iskandar of Johor, who was the Yang Di Pertuan Agong at the time, an allegation vehemently disputed by the former King’s son, Tunku Abdul Majid. - FMT