YOURSAY These ministers should resign collectively and wait till they are inducted into the senate. Where is the rule of law, now?

'No comment' on status of unelected cabinet members

MyRights!: Senate President Abu Zahar Ujang. You said, "Must respect the rule of law and the constitution".

Then, explain to me why the prime minister appointed them. To break the law?

At least Najib Abdul Razak should be brave enough to stand up and admit his mistake. Otherwise, all these appointees, by taking their oath of office, have shown no respect for the law.

This is not acceptable. They should resign collectively and wait till they are inducted into the senate. Where is the rule of law, now?

KB Menon: Yes, that question must be answered. Is it legal for these backdoor ministers to take the oath of office before being appointed as senators? It's the ‘cart before the horse' kind of thing.

Sinner: This is the most stupid answer coming from our senate president. Of course if DAP chairperson Karpal Singh's view is accepted, the constitution has to be amended. That is what Karpal means. Like that also cannot understand? How to understand proceedings in the senate?

Wira: Article 43 (2) (b) of our federal constitution has this to say about the formation of a cabinet: "He (the Yang di-Pertuan Agong) shall, on the advice of the prime minister, appoint other ministers from among the members of either House of Parliament".

If Dewan Rakyat parliamentarians cannot even comment on amending the federal constitution, then who can? The unelected president of the senate?

Anonymous_3e68: Can't they even get procedures right?

Retnam: Now it is clear why Najib appointed Paul Low and P Waythamoorthy as minister and deputy minister respectively. It was to divert attention.

No big deal. Get them to be sworn in as senators now. Then swear them in as ministers/deputy ministers again. Kow tim (settled).

Jstom: Simple! First organise a blackout - then presto! The date of appointment of senators is backdated to before the announcement of the cabinet. Standard operating procedures, what? Then everything is regularised.

Iamleavingbutdecidedtostay: Dear senate president, what law did Karpal break?

Anonymous #52720663: This guy is re-appointed, but seems not to know the law. Blissfully ignorant because it does not hurt to stay that way! Just because the constitution says so, it should not mean the upper house can stay for eternity.

Ask former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad how many times he has amended the constitution. I agree with Karpal. The senate is a place for people to act big and do nothing.

Senior citizen: Attention all concerned parties. Yes, I 100 percent agree with Karpal for having suggested the abolishment of the senate.

The elections are called for the people to choose the people for Parliament. If this is a means to get the rejects to enter Dewan Negara as senators, just to be given posts in the cabinet, then it defeats the very purpose of elections.

This is dishonesty of the highest order and taxpayers should not be forced to pay for such acts of dishonesty. This is being mean and cunning.

This is like prison wardens opening the back gates to let some prisoners leave the prison in the day and let them in through the back door in the night, just to answer roll call.

I consider this seditious and outright cheating.

Timothy: No comment, or cannot comment or don't know how and what to comment?

Anticonmen: The senate is just a rubber stamp and does not contribute any value to governance or voice any objections to the many cases of mismanagement. Waste of rakyat's money.

Hmmmmmmmm: In what way did Karpal not respect the constitution by suggesting that the senate be done away with? It was only a suggestion to be debated, for there is a basis to it - wastage of public funds.

WTF(Well Thats Fantastic)Malaysia: I wonder who these people represent when they are not elected into any position? The only person I see them serving is the prime minister, on a personal level as he personally appointed them.

P.Dev Anand Pillai: It is very clear that Umno-BN has no regard for the law and democracy. It clearly goes against the will of the people by appointing those who are not elected by the people to this useless Upper House, which is nothing but a rubber stamp.

Even if the Dewan Negara rejects a Bill, it can still be passed by the Dewan Rakyat if it gets enough votes.

Therefore, it is a sheer waste of public funds. It would be better to have the IPCMC and a truly independent anti-corruption body answerable to the people instead.

Dont just talk: Rules of law are man-made and not carved in stone. It is a fact that the Dewan Negara has outlived its use and should be abolished to avoid appointing senators to become ministers and deputy ministers by the backdoor.

More often than not, these back-door ministers/deputy ministers are defeated parliamentary candidates from BN who have been rejected by voters. If they have any pride, these rejects should just ride off into the sunset.

Raja Chulan: I agree with Karpal's suggestion completely. For Najib, the senate nomination is like a blank cheque for use at will to suit his own political agenda.

Najib has been in the main using (abusing) the senate to buy over the opposition and silence his critics. This is not the objective of having the senate in the first place. The senate is there to strengthen democracy, not to circumvent or abuse it.

Either we take steps to stop further abuses by Najib and the like, or close down the Dewan Negara as suggested by Karpal.

Anticommunalist: Malaysiakini as usual is acting as Pakatan's lap dog. Anwar himself is not elected in PKR. DAP has a tainted committee that was elected by dubious means, but all these are okay to Malaysiakini .

What really is funny is that Pakatan went around dangling the carrot of senatorships to practically half the country. But now that they have lost, they sing a different tune.

Anonymous_40c3: There is no room to remedy the unconstitutional appointment of the cabinet ministers retrospectively by having them now sworn in. The federal constitution overrides the speaker.

Wise guy: The reformation of the Dewan Negara is worth looking into. It seems that it has been the dumping ground for political rejects.

The United Kingdom has reformed its House of Lords for the better. Karpal's view must be looked at from a positive angle.

That is why we have MPs from the ruling opposition. It's got nothing to do with confusing the people.

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