KUCHING, June 4: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Central Youth wing supports the appointment of Tommy Thomas as the Attorney-General (AG).
In a press statement, its chairman Michael Tiang said there was no question about Tommy’s qualification to be appointed as the AG because he met the criteria for eligibility.
According to Tiang, it was clear that under Article 145 of the Federal Constitution, the qualification for a person to be appointed as the AG would be a person who is qualified to be a judge of the Federal Court, and under Article 123, such person must be a citizen, and for the last 10 years before his appointment he shall have been an advocate or a member of the judicial and legal service.
“The constitutional threshold is clear on the AG’s appointment. There are no other requirements beyond those relevant Articles of the Constitution as stated above.
“Therefore I don’t see any questions to Thomas’ qualification as a qualified person to be appointed as the next AG for the federal government as proposed by the PH (Pakatan Harapan) government,” said Tiang in the statement.
He further stressed that it was always SUPP’s stand to uphold the spirit and the letter of the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the land.
“SUPP firmly believes that our Federal Constitution does not in any way discriminate (against) any race or religion.
“Instead our Federal Constitution is the cornerstone of our Malaysia’s multiracial, multireligious, multicultural, democratic and secular community, and no one is above the Constitution,” said Tiang.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday confirmed Thomas was the government’s sole nominee for the AG post.
Dr Mahathir also said the government would not be nominating anyone else for the job, but was quick to add that his administration would work on a solution over the AG impasse with the palace.
Various media reported that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V rejected Thomas’s candidacy, purportedly because he is non-Malay, non-Muslim and has never been a judge.
Others, including Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) information chief Nasrudin Hassan and Federal Territories UMNO Youth chief Datuk Razlan Rafii have asserted that the AG candidate should be a Muslim to safeguard Islam as the religion of the federation, the interests of Malaysia’s majority population who are Muslims, and to properly advise the King as the religion’s defenders.
The Conference of Rulers is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the AG appointment. — DayakDaily
