Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email While the new Selangor MB thinks that its not so urgent to get Manoharan sworn-in, the Bar Council thinks otherwise. For them, not having the ceremony will be depriving Manoharan of his privileges, access to documents, allowances, etc. Perhaps the new MB needs some capable legal advisors so that he can get the correct facts and then provide proper replies. The Bar Council also pointed out that the two ISA detainees who won in 1978 were sworn in at the Kamunting center itself. The NST published a photo of the swearing-in of Chiang Heng Kai, one of the detainees:
Chian Heng Kai taking his oath in front of Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Dr Syed Nasir Ismail at the Kamunting Detention Camp in 1978. (Inset) Chian
Now, this will be problem for PM. He should be allowing the swearing in since there was a precedence. He would not want to look more cruel than the PM in 1978 (Tun Hussein Onn). If he delays giving the clearance, it will only look bad on him.
DAP, in the meantime, have proposed 4 names for EXCO posts (and one of them will be deputy MB if it is accepted) – Teresa Kok (Kinrara), Teng Cheng Kim (Sungai Pinang), Ronnie Liu (Pandamaran) and Ean Yong Hian Wah (Seri Kembangan). DAP has 13 assemblymen in Selangor – 12 Chinese and one Indian. By merit, where does Manoharan stand? Number 5? 6? 7? 11? 13? Only DAP CEC can answer this since they are the one who put him up as a candidate.
Unlike the Penang assemblymen Jagdeep and Rayer who declined EXCO positions, Manoharan is reported to be willing to be an EXCO, as mentioned in the statement released by his wife.
Bar Council disgarees with Khalid on Manoharan’s swearing-in
By : Jennifer Gomez and Annie Freeda Cruez
source
KUALA LUMPUR, Sat:
The Bar Council disagrees with the Selangor Menteri Besar that there was no urgency for Internal Security Act detainee M. Manoharan to be sworn in as an assemblyman.
“He should be sworn in with the rest of the assemblymen because he is elected by the people. Only then can his name be gazetted as a state assemblyman. Not doing so would further deprive him of his rights, such as his allowances and access to information and documents which can be delivered to him,” said Bar Council vice-president Ragunath Kesavan.
Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had said that it was not urgent for Manoharan to be sworn in as an assemblyman because he was not being made an executive councillor. Khalid had also said that Manoharan’s detention was a political issue and that the opposition would call for the ISA to be repealed. Manoharan, who is being detained at the Kamunting detention camp, won the Kota Alam Shah state seat in Selangor in the recent polls.
Ragunath said although Manoharan was in detention, he could still serve his constituents by communicating with them through his family members. He can even operate a service centre this way, he said. Ragunath said it did not make sense for Manoharan to be detained for being a threat to national security when he was elected as the peoples representative.
Manoharan, meanwhile, has expressed his desire to be present for the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Selangor state government. In a press statement issued by his wife, Puspaneela Manoharan, it was stated that Manoharan was also keen on being made an executive council member so that he could serve his constituents effectively, as promised in his election manifesto. “My husband was saddened when told of a newspaper report stating that his swearing-in could wait and that there was no urgency,” she said.
Poser over Manoharan’s swearing-in
By : Jennifer Gomez
source
KUALA LUMPUR: Should Internal Security Act detainee M. Manoharan, who won a state seat in Selangor, be sworn in as soon as possible?
While Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is of the opinion that the swearing-in of the Kota Alam Shah state assemblyman could wait, the Bar Council begs to differ.
There appears to be a precedent in the matter when two ISA detainees took their oath in the Kamunting detention camp in 1978. Chian Heng Kai and Chan Kok Kit, who won the Batu Gajah and Sungai Besi parliamentary seats respectively on a DAP ticket, did so in the presence of the speaker of the Dewan Rakyat Tan Sri Dr Syed Nasir Ismail, the secretary of the Dewan Rakyat and camp authorities.
Khalid said there was no urgency as Manoharan had not been picked as a state executive councillor. He said the oath-taking could wait until after Manoharan’s release. For now, there is nothing we can do. His detention is a political issue.” On the ISA, he said the opposition at the federal level would seek its repeal in parliament soon.
Bar Council vice-president Ragunath Kesavan said the federal government was duty-bound to allow Manoharan to be sworn in as he was an elected representative. “The power to allow Manoharan to be sworn in as the wakil rakyat lies with the internal security minister.
Chian, 68, who was detained under the ISA in November 1976, said the DAP picked him to stand in the Batu Gajah seat in 1978. “I won by a majority of more than 6,000 votes against the MCA candidate,” he said. Chian, who was released in July 1981, went on to contest the Tanjung parliamentary seat in Penang but lost to former Penang chief minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon. He soldiered on and contested in the Bukit Mertajam parliamentary constituency in 1986, winning it and retaining it in 1990 before quitting politics in 1995.
On his swearing-in, Chian said the camp authorities informed him a few days earlier that it would take place at the camp. It was a very meaningful event. Even though the whole process was short, it made my detention less painful,” he said.
DAP’s four names for Selangor exco posts
DAP has submitted four names to be considered for the Selangor state executive council including veteran politician Teng Chang Khim who was initially said to have been excluded.
Teng is the Sungai Pinang state assemblyman. The others were Pandamaran state assemblyman Ronnie Liu, DAP state chairman and Sri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah and Kinrara assemblyman Teresa Kok. Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San had droppedout of the exco race to make way for the more experienced.
Kok, when met at the DAP headquarters yesterday, confirmed that the four names were submitted yesterday morning to the new Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who was sworn in on Thursday. Khalid is PKR’s secretary-general and Ijok state assemblyman. The names for all the exco members were expected to be submitted to the Sultan of Selangor by March 22.
There are 10 exco positions up for grabs. The Opposition won 36 of the 56 state assembly seats with PKR winning 15, DAP, 13 and PAS eight. Of the 10 positions, both PKR and DAP were expected to get four seats each with PAS filling the remaining two.
