The Chief Secretary, Tan Sri Sidek Hassan should defuse the Selangor constitutional crisis by suspending Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi’s appointment as State Secretary and consulting the Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim on the most ideal appointee to be the top Selangor civil servant or Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s slogan of an inclusive 1Malaysia government would suffer another irreparable blow.
Najib’s 1Malaysia concept proclaimed as its goal “to make Malaysia more vibrant, more productive and more competitive” by fully embracing “our diversity of ethnicity, religions and beliefs and, by being inclusive, build mutual respect and acceptance into a solid foundation of trust and cohesiveness”.
The 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap made public a year ago had identified seven areas to achieve the ideals of 1Malaysia, with the ultimate goal specifically spelt out as to create a Malaysian nation where “every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second and where the principles of 1Malaysia are woven into the economic, political and social fabric of society”.
The seven areas are:
A strong case can be made out that apart from massive propagation of the 1Malaysia logo in the past year, the 1Malaysia concept has suffered even greater setbacks rather make greater inroads in all the seven areas concerned.
The constitutional crisis over the appointment of the Selangor State Secretary without consulting the Selangor Mentri Besar underlines the fact that the Chief Secretary and the Federal Government are not prepared to set the example of being fully committed to a “truly 1Malaysia government” which fully embraces inclusiveness in a federal-state relationship involving different political coalitions running the Federal and state governments.
If the 1Malaysia concept of inclusiveness, to build and promote mutual respect and acceptance among Malaysians regardless of ethnicity, religion or beliefs (which must include political beliefs) is the guiding national spirit under the Najib premiership, the Chief Secretary would be even more mindful that he should consult with the Selangor Mentri Besar on the appointment of the Selangor State Secretary so as to strengthen trust and cohesiveness in Federal-state relations instead of inviting the opposite consequences.
A full-blown Selangor constitutional crisis over the appointment of the Selangor State Secretary would be proof that Najib’s 1Malaysia concept is an empty slogan – reason why the Selangor constitutional crisis should be defused immediately with the Chief Secretary suspending Kushrin’s appointment and fully consulting the Selangor Mentri Besar on the ideal appointee for the post.