Work goes on as usual for Melaka's caretaker CM

MELAKA: It is work as usual for caretaker Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali, despite having no state executive councillors to delegate tasks to.

The Lendu assemblyman was appointed caretaker Chief Minister after the Perikatan Nasional/Umno-led state government collapsed after four lawmakers announced that they had lost confidence in him.

The functions of state government departments and agencies at the state's administration hub in Seri Negeri also continued as normal.

Political observer Micheal Ching Jenn Aun said Sulaiman acted properly to advise Yang-di-Pertua Negeri Tun Dr Mohd Ali Rustam to dissolve the assembly if he did so before the four lawmakers made their announcement to quit the Perikatan Nasional-Umno state government.

“Those opposing the legality of Sulaiman's move to dissolve the assembly should first check when the advice to Mohd Ali was made, whether it was before or after the announcement of the four lawmakers,” he said.

On Monday (Oct 4), Sungai Udang assemblyman Datuk Seri Idris Haron and three other state lawmakers declared they had lost confidence in Sulaiman's leadership.

The three others are Pantai Kundor assemblyman Datuk Nor Azman Hassan, Telok Mas assemblyman Noor Effandi Ahmad, and Independent lawmaker Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee.

Ching said based on the Melaka constitution, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri had discretion to appoint a caretaker Chief Minister between the dissolution of one legislative assembly and the convening of the next.

He said the constitutional conventions stipulate that a caretaker Chief Minister is not empowered to make any long-term policy.

“A caretaker chief minister is needed in the present Melaka impasse,” he said.

Ching said reference should also be made to Sabah’s case, where even the Court of Appeal dismissed former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman’s appeal against his previous failed bid for leave to initiate a judicial review against the state assembly’s dissolution in 2020.

Ching said the Melaka constitution is probably the same as Sabah's, and needs to be reviewed before blaming Mohd Ali for going ahead with the assembly’s dissolution.

“We must know whether the assembly's dissolution was correctly done within the provisions of the Melaka constitution,” he added.