Mais must be held accountable, has no immunity, say legal eagles
Problems will arise if the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) is given immunity and treated as the alter ego of the state ruler, says a constitutional expert.
"As such, Mais must make sure that it does not do anything that will bring disrepute to the Sultan's image as head of state," said lecturer Dr Abdul Aziz Bari.
He said to assume that Mais spoke and acted on behalf of the sultan would lead to difficulties and problems, adding that there could not be more than one ruler in the state.
Aziz (pic, right) said Mais was created to assist the sultan in his role as the head of Islam, as spelt out in the state constitution.
"But the problem starts when Mais is formally created as a statutory body through a law passed by the state legislative assembly. It is a legal entity in its own right. It can sue and be sued," he told The Malaysian Insider.
He was referring to Selangor's Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who yesterday voiced displeasure with a PAS lawmaker for questioning Mais's executive powers and suggesting they be withdrawn.
The sultan said Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad should have read the Selangor constitution and the Islamic Religion Administration Enactment.
"I am saddened and disappointed with this irresponsible statement,” the ruler said in his speech at the inauguration of a mosque in Sepang.
Aziz, who now teaches social sciences at Universiti Selangor (Unisel), said he was not clear about stripping Mais of executive powers, as suggested by Khalid.
"What Mais has, as well as other similar councils in the states have, are statutory powers given to them by enactments which created them," he said.
Aziz said executive powers in the states rest with the heads of government but constitutionally exercised by the executive councils.
"The sultan may give his opinions, especially when it comes to powers on religion that are within his jurisdiction, but whether the view is constitutionally correct is another matter," he said.
Meanwhile, a senior lawyer said Mais could be criticised if its officials acted unreasonably or exceeded their authority under the very law it was enacted.
"But that does not also necessarily mean an attack on the sultan. This is because a statutory body like Mais can be held accountable in a court," said the lawyer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He said being a constitutional monarch, the ruler has to act in accordance with the advice of the ruling government.
"Something is amiss when Sultan Sharafuddin openly rebuked Khalid," he added.
Selangor is administered by the Pakatan Rakyat coalition of PKR, PAS and DAP.
Khalid had on June 26 called for the Enactment on Islamic Laws Administration (Enactment No. 3, 1952) and the Islamic Religion Administration Enactment 2003 to be reviewed.
He made the call after Mais failed to abide by the Attorney-General’s decision that the Iban-language and Bahasa Malaysia Bibles seized by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) be returned to the Bible Society of Malaysia.
“This is an organisation (Mais) which does not even want to listen to anyone and this results in a 'government within a government' situation in Selangor,” Khalid had said at a press conference in Parliament. - July 16, 2014
