PENANG Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr P Ramasamy has slammed embattled Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki for invoking the name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong during an interview with Sinar Harian on Wednesday (Jan 12).
In the interview with the Malay daily, Azam, who is under pressure following calls for him to resign, said that only the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has the power to terminate him.
According to Ramasamy, while invoking the name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Azam has forgotten that the monarch would not remove him from his position without the advice of the Prime Minister.
“Azam simply does not understand the nature of the separation of powers in the country as well as the role of the constitutional monarch,” the Perai assemblyperson pointed out.
“Is Azam trying to show his displeasure towards Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for not coming to his ‘rescue’ like the Prime Minister did with some other ministers?
“Is Azam saying that Ismail Sabri is not fit to be Prime Minister just because he has been keeping mum over his fate?”
Ramasamy reckoned that by invoking the name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Azam had unnecessarily “dragged royalty into politics”.
“There is no need for this. The monarch should be left alone as he is above politics,” he remarked.
Ramasamy went on to accuse Azam of disrespecting the role of the Prime Minister as the chief executive of the country, noting that Azam was upset simply because “Ismail Sabri had not stepped in to support him”.
“By keeping mum Ismail Sabri is labelled a weak Prime Minister who seemed to be enjoying the benefits of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Opposition,” he commented.
“I can imagine that if Ismail Sabri speaks up about Azam’s matter his controversial ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ will become a laughingstock.
“The writing on the wall is clear that Azam has to resign but whether he stays or goes, the allegations against him must still be investigated – he simply cannot expect the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Prime Minister to save him from his present imbroglio.” – Jan 13, 2022
Photo credit: NST
