What treason? In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against ones sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife or that of a master by his servant. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a lesser superior was petty treason. A person who commits treason is known in law as a traitor. Orans Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as ...[a]...citizens actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]. In many nations, it is also often considered treason to attempt or conspire to overthrow the government, even if no foreign country is aiding or involved by such an endeavor. The above is not my personal definition, but Wikipedia’s; the one which is most accessible to anyone on the internet. Why did I look up this word? My reason is simple and ordinary. The SUN put this as their headline story and coloured it in maroon, declaring ‘TREASON’ has been committed. So, I became curious, what was the story when I picked up the newspaper at 6.30am. But, having been taught English in RMC by our favourite English teacher, the late Mr Michael Loh, my first response was, ‘how did I get the meaning of this word wrong in the first place?’ Does not ‘treason’ involve crime against the nation, I thought. Therefore, my search for the real meaning with a dictionary began; but, better still with an encyclopaedia! What is treason? Treason is a crime against the nation or her sovereign, but the definition talks about ‘extreme acts.’ Now, let us consider what these ‘extreme act was?’ The extreme act was that two of the parties, PKR and DAP, had not complied with the request by the ‘sovereign,’ the Sultan of one of the nine sub-states of the Federation, to submit more than two names for consideration as MB. Now, some fundamental legal questions to consider. Does the Registrar of Societies Act state that obeying such frivolous instructions is necessary of any legally registered association? Apart from the rules set in the form of a Act of Parliament, the registered societies under this Act is only totally and absolutely responsible to the AGM or EGM as per their constitution and guidelines. You see what the Sultan’s Advisors might have not considered is that both PKR and DAP are legal entities. They cannot disobey a Sultan that does not exist as a legal requirement in their acts and their constitution. And, even if I concede that they are wrong regardless, who do we send to jail for treason? Send both PKR and DAP Exco to jail for treason? Come on; where has rationality gone to in Malaysia; why is emotionality, even by heads and former heads of institutions, having such a centre hold on this nation-state? Where is sanity and civility? Or, maybe wrongly inspired by the dastardly group of barbarians, we too are losing our civility! The institution of the Sultan In a previous column I had already argued that ours is not a feudal monarchy, but a constitutional one. What does it mean, simply in language and grammar sense? Does it not mean that the adjective modifies or qualifies, and defines the noun? The actual institution of the Sultan is not explicitly defined by the Constitution other than the Conference of Rulers. Therefore, what is the grounds for this “Malay idea of ‘murkah muka Tuanku,’ becoming the very idea of treason itself in a modern nation-state? Maybe the Malay language lends itself for such a nuance for language, but surely the English translation of a newspaper cannot blindly agree with a bad translation of an out-of-date concept? I therefore call upon the SUN Newspaper to apologize again, as they did to the Minister of Home Affairs, for the lack of clarity in the nature of English translations by way of bad or poorly understood concept of modern forms of new governance in the ICT Age. Next steps in the poker game I do not play poker, but I love to play a card game which the Indian Malayalees love to play called 28. From it I have learned the stuff of strategies and moves to win the game. Poker cannot be too different. PKR and DAP, as political parties, have made their move. The Sultan’s Office has made a move in his name. The other spoilers and observers have made their move; to argue that the Sultan has absolute powers over the appointment of an MB. This cannot be true; as many limitations are surely imposed by law on these so-called absolute powers. For one, the person must be an elected ADUN. Secondly, the person must want the appointment even though party discipline sometimes dictates this and not really the Royal. Thirdly the person appointed must have the confidence of the majority in the House and this can be put to vote. Only those who have not studied and understood British Parliamentary history can argue such absolute powers. In the Westminster Parliamentary system, the MB is never selected by the people or the Royal. It is always a choice of the party with a majority in the House. In the case of Selangor, although Pakatan is not a formal coalition, they have an greed policy about who will provide the candidate for the MB’s post. In the case of Pakatan, it seems obvious that differing criteria have been deployed for the choice. With a majority of Chinese in Penang, they gave their choice to a DAP Chief Minister. In Kedah it was a candidate from PAS and so also in Perak, Kelantan or Terengganu. But in Selangor or Negeri Sembilan or Johore or Pahang, it could be anyone from any of the parties. So, it is obvious that regardless of the contents of the so-called State Constitution, the actual process of the naming and appointment has to be a close collaboration between the elected leaders of the people and the royal. They must all make sure that the appointment complies with the demand that the person must have the confidence in the House. The State Senate can anytime be forced to vote on any major issue of concern and that majority issue will come to the fore. KJ John, Truth Matters, FB. 9th September 2014.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 07:39:52 +0000
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