Sabah PKR leader says state govt should respect the law

KOTA KINABALU - A Sabah Pakatan Harapan component leader has openly questioned the State Government's defiance of last week's High Court ruling that the appointment of Parti Warisan Sabah official to head the State Water Department was illegal. 

"It has compromised the credibility and integrity of the State Government," Sabah PKR Wanita chief, Rahimah Majid, said in a statement, adding that the Chief Minister and State Cabinet must bear responsibility if investors stay away because of this. 

She believes Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal was ill-advised in asking Datuk Amarjit Singh to continue holding the post. 

PKR is a partner with Parti Warisan Sabah in the coalition, together with DAP and Upko. 

"The feedback gathered from the ground indicate that this episode has tarnished the reputation and image of the state government," she said. 

Rahimah, a lawyer, was commenting on Shafie's statement in the Daily Express on Saturday that the State Government will "correct" the wrong process leading to the appointment of Amarjit last August. 

Shafie had said although the court made a ruling, "I think the judge, in his ruling, didn't clearly stipulate that it is illegal".

Similarly, Rahimah questioned the validity of de facto Law Minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong's statement that Section 3(2) of the Sabah Water Supply Enactment 2003 does not apply to the Director of the Sabah Water Department. 

She said the statements by both Shafie and Liew were contrary to the fundamental principle of the separation of powers of the Legislative, Executive and the Judiciary in Malaysia, which is necessary so that there is a check and balance. 

"They obviously failed to respect the law and are setting a bad example. The Court has made a decision and should be followed even if you don't agree. The law must be respected not just in letter but also in spirit. 

"No one is above the law, more so a person who is supposed to uphold the law, the Constitution and the rule of law. 

“The Chief Minister and the State government are sending a wrong signal to the world and potential investors that it will not honour the law and court decisions. 

"They have set a bad precedent, and if foreign investors are staying away from Sabah, the Chief Minister and his Cabinet will have to bear responsibility" she said. 

Rahimah said both Shafie and Liew should have respected the Court decision and let the State Attorney-General do her job accordingly. 

"Obviously the Chief Minister was ill-advised to ask Amarjit to continue instead of asking him to take leave pending the appeal. It is trite law that an appeal does not operate as a stay of execution.

"As the Chief Minister has acknowledged it is a 'mistake' and to be corrected, the Director should not be instructed to continue. 

"If at all, he should only resume after compliance of the law, and after whatever 'correction', as mentioned by the Chief Minister, if it can be corrected at all. 

"Even if wrongly instructed by the Chief Minister, Amarjit should have respected the court decision and stepped aside," she said. 

She concluded that, by appointing Amarjit, who is a non-civil servant, the State Government not only ran afoul of the law, but also clearly degraded the most senior, qualified and experienced officer who was supposed to fill the said vacancy, and badly demoralised the civil service, which is essentially the backbone of the state government.