Former judge: Unity govt usually formed during war, national emergency

Finlayson Timothy Joel

KUCHING (Nov 26): A unity government is a broad coalition of all parties in the legislature, formed usually during war or national emergency, and with small opposition, said lawyer Timothy Finlayson Joel.

He said sometimes, the coalition will go on until the next election, or before the term expires.

Since frequent elections are costly, all the parties in the coalition will usually stay on till the term ends, explained the former judge when asked for his personal views.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been appointed the new Malaysian Prime Minister, courtesy of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

“Unity government has been practised in other countries like Italy, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Greece, Canada, South Africa, Palestine, Estonia, Kenya, Libya, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States, Israel, Lebanon, Croatia, with their peculiar modifications due to local conditions and circumstances, among others.”

He said members who are accepted into the government retain their affiliation with other political parties, if they are not from the majority party and represent their party in the coalition.

“It is basically power-sharing,” he said.

The unity government leader (or Prime Minister in Malaysia) is the one who commands the majority support in the Parliament, Finlayson pointed out.

How the majority support is determined in Malaysia is found in Article 40(2)(a) and Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution where the Agong plays the role of a constitutional monarch to choose the PM, whom in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the august House, he added.

“In the opinion of a legal expert – unlike the English rule and in Nepal where it is written that the largest party with the number of seats in hung parliament will decide the leader in the House, there is no such written rule in Malaysia.

“So, it is entirely possible if he does not have the largest number, nevertheless he may be acceptable, less controversial to other factions, the King may choose the leader who is more likely to cobble together a majority than one with the largest number,” said Finlayson.

In the unity government, the decision making process will be based on majority support of the coalition parties, he added.

The concept of co-operation or consensus, he pointed out, is good so long as it is in the best interest of the country and benefits the people, though at times decision making may take longer time due to different political ideologies in the coalition.

“The best Federal Cabinet is of course the one that can deliver and execute policies that revive the economy, reform all sectors of it, empowered with vision of prosperity and growth of the country, with full participation and inputs of all parties in the House under the new Prime Minister, and also getting the best experts to advise and implement policies in key and strategic areas is important for the Cabinet,” he said.

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