KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar said Negeri Sembilan state secretary Datuk Mohd Zafir Ibrahim and state legal adviser Datuk Muzalmah Mustapha Kamal must continue carrying out their duties because their suspension by Menteri Besar Datuk Ismail Lasim is invalid.
He said both officers cannot be barred from entering their offices, as preventing them from working would be unlawful, according to the New Straits Times.
Dusuki said, “The duties of Mohd Zafir as Negeri Sembilan state secretary and Muzalmah as state legal adviser must continue as usual, and they must also remain in Negeri Sembilan.”
He added that the menteri besar’s order to suspend them “is invalid and can simply be disregarded.”
The Attorney General’s Chambers said last night that the Negeri Sembilan state executive council has no legal authority to suspend either officer, as appointments and suspensions fall under the Public Service Commission and the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.
The chambers also said any new appointment of a state legal adviser must comply with Article 37 of the Laws of the Constitution of Negeri Sembilan 1959 and be made by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission from among its members.
Ismail had earlier said the state executive council unanimously decided at a special meeting to suspend Mohd Zafir and Muzalmah with immediate effect.
Dusuki said the situation in Negeri Sembilan mirrors the 2009 Perak crisis, when the state secretary and state legal adviser were also suspended.
He said that in 2009, then Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan and the Attorney General’s Chambers decided that the Perak menteri besar did not have the power to suspend the two senior officers.
He said the Perak state secretary and legal adviser were subsequently instructed to continue performing their duties as usual.
