Public spats between ministers is on the rise. Is there a law against it? How does parliamentary democracy operate in these situations? If ministers feel strongly about something, what should they do? Should they express public dissent? These are good questions. What is the answer?
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Why are we mollycoddling our public figures? There is a weapon far deadlier than a nuclear bomb. Words are the most powerful weapons in all the world. So much so that a cautionary note penned in 1885 reads: - ‘Every word is endowed with a spirit … One word may be likened unto fire, another unto light, and the influence which both exert is manifest in the world.’ It has been said that a ...
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Who said the Prime Minister is not a public officer? Two separate panels of the Court of Appeal did. One panel heard Mahathir’s appeal. It delivered its decision in April of this year. The second panel of the Court of Appeal heard Tony Pua’s appeal and delivered its decision last week. Both Mahathir and Tony Pua had sued the then Prime Minister Najib for the tort of public misfeasance. Both lost. When they ...
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A recent spate of social media messages argue that the former prime minister Najib enjoys absolute immunity from criminal sanction. The messages refer to an article by Mr Charles Hector, entitled: ‘Najib – Cannot be charged for crimes as a public servant until law is changed?’ Now, did Charles say the former PM was immune from any criminal prosecution? In 2016, Tun Mahathir sued Najib. Mahathir alleged that there had been ...
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