.jpg)
By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright January 2023
Tun Mahathir like many honourable men in this country has hinted many times that Zahid ought to withdraw as a leader of UMNO once charged in court for the sake of his credibility and honour.
But a week ago, he is no longer subtle about telling Zahid to resign. He cites an instance where the King, for the sake of honour and credibility, would have to quit when charged - why not Zahid?
Quoting Article 33A of the Federal Constitution, Tun Mahathir said the provision reads as follows: "Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall cease to exercise the functions of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong if charged with an offence."
So far none of the Agong has been charged with any offence in recent years. Therefore, the question does not arise. What about the executive branch then? Does a politician need to resign when charged in court? Is there any law that demands a government minister quit his post once charged in court?
I am not familiar with the law. Perhaps a practitioner or an authority on Constitutional Law ought to enlighten us on this issue. But going by convention and precedents, politicians in a democracy like ours do withdraw from public office once charged in a court of law. Sometimes as minor as molesting another.
There are many such examples to draw upon from the UK and the US. Google "political scandals in the UK" and you will find plenty of instances throughout history where politicians resigned because of minor offences compared to what Zahid faces in court locally.
For example, recently Chris Pincher the Deputy Chief Whip of the Conservative Party resigned on 30th June 2022 following allegations about him groping two men. Pincher did not receive bribes, launder money or abuse his power while in office. It was just an allegation for groping (pinching?) two men.
Anyway, the incremental effect of this case and other related controversies eventually led to the resignation of 59 Conservative MPs. This subsequently led to Boris Johnson resigning as leader of the Conservative Party, and thus as Prime Minister.
However, Tun Mahathir said Zahid Hamidi is facing 47 criminal charges on misuse of funds from Yayasan Akalbudi and yet he is appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister of the country under the new government. Do you follow Tun Mahathir's argument when he cited Article 33A of the constitution that if the highest person in our constitutional monarchy, that is the King, has to step down when charged, shouldn't that apply to the executive branch as well?
In addition, on 29 December the prosecution filed a petition of appeal against the High Court's dismissal of 40 corruption charges against Zahid Hamidi in relation to his foreign visa system (VLN) case.
What more should Zahid be charged with before he would bow out gracefully from public office? Why wouldn't he withdraw like other honorable politicians in the UK when he is already facing 87 serious charges?
How else could Tun Mahathir or anyone else politely tell Zahid that it's time to go?
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav.
Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
Newswav is solely an aggregation platform and hosts the content. The views expressed and content above including media (pictures, videos, etc) were provided by the author. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
