A law cannot be displaced by a mere political agreement – political analyst
11 May 2022
By Wartawan Nabalu News
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s 40 per cent special grant regarding article 112D, the constitution cannot be set aside by a mere political or administrative arrangement said Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair, Faculty of Law, University Malay, Emeritus Prof. Dr Hj Shad Saleem Faruqi.
He said, although the government policies, circulars, and gazettes in this country are said capable of overwriting a law, they should not be done in such a way and certainly cannot replace a law.
“I know the attitude in this country is the dasar kerajaan or the pekeliling kerajaan or warta kerajaan can overwrite the law but a law cannot be displaced by a mere political policy or agreement.
“It requires a formal order by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. It is not known whether there is such ‘112D’ ordered by the king.
"There is some gazette notification but is it on the order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong? Was it done with the agreement of both the government of Sabah and the Federal or is it simply a treasury order?”
He said during his talk on the webinar of “Negotiate The Special Grant Conferred by Article 112D Thus Extinguishes Sabah’s 40% Rights Conferred by Article 112C of The Federal Constitution?” that was organized by WISDOM Foundation through facebook and Zoom yesterday.
Adding on, Shad also mentioned a few ways on what should be done for an amicable settlement for this matter which it requires the unity of all faction within Sabah and a mutual agreement in a negotiation.
“The beginning point is 40% because that is the law today. Until that is changed, that is the baseline. However, it can go up and down but it cannot be unilateral.
“Also an independent assessor under 112D is required by the constitution if no agreement can be reached.
“Non-payment of a debt is a denial of the right to property under article 13 of the Federal Constitution, therefore, Sabah can go to court to recover money that were not paid since 1973. Reliance may be paid on the authority of the Federal Court whom have the power to issue a mandamus to command enforcement of the right of the person who have been deprived of their property not in accordance with the law,” he said.
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