Invitations to next PM's swearing in out eventhough the current PM havent resign

KUALA LUMPUR, - The Yang DiPertuan Agong Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin is to award Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi with the Tun title after he submits his resignation as prime minister on Thursday.

It is also understood that the Abdullah’s wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah will also receive a similar title.

The prime minister’s predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his wife Tun Siti Hasmah Ali also received similar titles when Dr Mahathir retired in 2003.

The Tun title is the most senior federal award and is divided into the Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara (SMN) or Seri Setia Mahkota (SSM), Malaysia’s fourth and fifth highest awards respectively. There can be only 25 living people with the SMN and 35 with the SSM at any one time. (The nation’s highest award is the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP) which was started in 1960.)

Abdullah announced last Saturday that he would submit his resignation letter on April 2 after his Umno party confirmed Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak as party president.

The prime minister said he would step down and make way for his deputy in a power transfer following the ruling Barisan Nasional’s disastrous results in Election 2008.

While the King has yet to formally accept Abdullah’s resignation, invitations have been sent out to all federal ministers, deputy ministers, state menteris besars and chief ministers to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Najib has not said anything about his confirmation as the country’s sixth prime minister, saying he was awaiting the official announcement.

His selection also confirms the prophecy that the first initials of Malaysia’s first six premiers will form first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman’s name.

DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang today said the early invitations to Najib’s swearing in, which was confirmed by Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, raised the question whether the King’s royal prerogative to appoint the next prime minister has been overlooked or disregarded.

“What happens if the Yang di Pertuan Agong does not consent to Abdullah’s desire to resign or needs time to discharge his royal prerogative?” the Ipoh Timur MP asked in a statement today.

“In the circumstances, isn’t it presumptuous as well as contempt for the royal prerogative of the Yang di Pertuan Agong to appoint the prime minister as provided by the constitution to proceed with the swearing-in ceremony for Najib to become the new prime minister when the Yang di Pertuan Agong has not met Abdullah and given his consent for Abdullah’s resignation?”

Lim said both Abdullah and Najib should explain these extraordinary developments. (TMI)

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Zaid - Half of present Cabinet members have passed their shelf life

Half the present members of Cabinet have passed their shelf life, their former colleague said today.

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said that when Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak becomes the prime minister in March, he will have the option of assembling a younger and stronger Cabinet.

"To do so, he will have to disband half of the present crop of Ministers, who have in any event certainly passed their shelf life. There are many young leaders in Umno and the BN who are capable technocrats but, more importantly, they are not the typical Umno idealogues and are more moderate in their positions."

"Khairy Jamaluddin is capable and has enough gumption to effect changes the new Government may need to effect. He could be a star in the future, if he is not buried or sidelined in March.

"And another young Umno leader is Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah - the present Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development.

"These are bright BN second liners and will make good Ministers, '' said the lawyer who was appointed a senator and made a minister by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after Barisan Nasional's poor performance on March 8.

Zaid had a tough time in Cabinet and his desire to push through judicial reforms quickly was resisted by several Umno ministers.

He resigned from government after the Internal Security Act was used on a journalist and an opposition politician.

Speaking at a luncheon talk in Singapore, he said that in all probability, Najib will persist with the so-called "Umno tradition" of giving Cabinet posts to those who hold senior party positions.
He cautioned that it will be a fatal mistake for Umno and Barisan Nasional if Najib reversed some of the reforms started by Abdullah.

He noted that it was Abdullah who reintroduced integrity, good governance and judicial reform into Malaysia's political lexicon.

"It took courage for Pak Lah to not only reintroduce them but to take steps towards giving them substance.

"The establishing of the Institute of Integrity, the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Anti Corruption Commission, all of which could have been better tailored to their purpose and declared aims, signalled the need for a massive change of direction - a paradigm shift, if you will
- in political governance.

"Will these efforts herald a new era in anti-corruption efforts as well as allow for more meaningful efforts to restore judicial independence and competence? Only Datuk Seri Najib can answer this, '' he said.

He noted that though Abdullah will be leaving the scene soon, he will leave behind an important legacy: a more open and critical society. Sadly Islam Hadhari was sorely misunderstood, said Zaid.

"A good idea, aimed at promoting moderation and progressiveness in Islamic discourse, it did not take off principally for the effort having been handicapped by its promotion having been undertaken by traditional stakeholders like Jakim and other Umno leaders.

"They were sadly more interested in pursuing political ambitions and aims than realising the noble aspirations underlying the campaign.

"The League of Nations conceived by Harry Truman failed as an organisation, but the idea was too good to die with the organisation and today we have the United Nations.

"I hope the reforms Pak Lah gave life to will survive him, '' he added.

(TheMalaysianinsider)

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