BY GURDIAL SINGH NIJAR
(Deputy President, HAKAM)
AS THE saying goes, the greater the storm, the brighter the rainbow. Smiling colours beamed when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong finally consented to the appointment of lawyer Tommy Thomas as the 10th attorney-general of Malaysia/Federation of Malaya. After a cliffhanger thriller to the finish – as royalty prevaricated in the face of the prime minister’s insistence that the government’s choice was not negotiable.
The short announcement on behalf of His Majesty alluded to the King’s “disappointment and worry about inaccurate and negative media reports of late which could threaten peace and harmony in the country”. The country – barely over the euphoria of a change of government – heaved a welcome sigh of relief. A potential constitutional crisis saved from the brink.
Are there lessons to be drawn from this episode? Several, I believe.