Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim today unveiled the Bill which proposes an amendment to restore the power of the state in appointing the state secretary, legal advisor and financial officer.

"I presented t NONE he Bill to the sultan at an audience with His Highness this morning," he told a press conference after chairing the weekly exco meeting at the state secretariat building in Shah Alam.

The Bill, to be tabled at a special sitting of the state assembly on Monday, is to amended Article 52 of the state constitution.

It is proposed that Clause 1 of the Article should be replaced with: 'His Royal Highness shall on the recommendation of the appropriate Service Commission by instrument under His Sign Manual and State Seal appoint a person holding whole time office in the public services to be the State Secretary, the State Legal Advisor and the State Financial Officer respectively.'

This is 'provided that before acting on the recommendation of the Service Commission, His Highness shall consider the advice of the menteri besar and may once refer the recommendation to the Commission in order that it may be reconsidered'.

If passed, the Bill will effectively restore the sultan’s powers prior to the 1993 amendment which saw royal and state power curtailed and concentrated in federal hands.

The situation currently leaves the state at the mercy of the Public Service Commission (PSC) and its de facto choice of candidates.

Online access to Bill

The Bill however skirted the thorny issue of defining who the ‘appropriate service commission will be, whether it is the federal-controlled PSC or the state-run State Service Commission.

NONE Who or what constitutes an ‘appropriate service commission’ has been a bone of contention between the state and federal governments, following the disputed appointment of Mohammed Khusrin Munawi (left) as state secretary.

Khalid said the Bill will be placed online from today, so that the public can study it and understand the issue prior to it being tabled.

"This is in accordance with the principles of transparency and accountability practised by the Pakatan-led Selangor government," he said.

The MB also expressed appreciation to the sultan for having giving his blessings to the Bill.