(May 7): The Sultan of Johor can challenge the 1994 amendments to the Federal Constitution that curtailed the rights and privileges of the rulers as changes to the supreme law were not brought to the attention of the Conference of Rulers, an academician said.

Constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari said alternatively, Putrajaya could invoke Article 130 to get an opinion on the amendment from the Federal Court.

"The Sultan may put up a challenge in the Federal Court as the amendment made by (then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) was not taken by the Conference of Rulers," he told The Malaysian Insider.

Aziz said this in response to Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar who today urged the state assembly to review the Johor Real Property and Housing Board Bill.

"The Sultan may dislike the Bill but under the amended provision of the Constitution, the ruler may be bypassed by the state assembly."

The Federal Constitution, which was amended in 1994, stated that a Bill will become law after 30 days even though there was no royal assent.

A similar clause was also inserted in all state constitutions.

The Johor ruler said the review of the Johor Real Property and Housing Board Bill was needed as it could contravene earlier state enactments.

"I do not agree with the Johor Real Property and Housing Board Bill, which was passed in the previous the state assembly sitting. This is because it was amended through pressure from outsiders who were narrow-minded (cetek akal) and do not understand the power of the ruler in Johor's state constitution," the New Straits Times quoted him saying when opening the Johor legislative assembly today.

The Bill, which was passed at the state legislative assembly June 14 last year, has not been endorsed by the ruler.

Ten amendments to the bill were made before it was tabled.

"If I approve the bill, then it will not be in line with a few other enactments which are used without problem, such as the Johor Corporation Enactment 1968.

"I urge members of the state assembly to review the bill and amend so that it is line with other enactments which have been enforced in Johor," said Sultan Ibrahim.

In June last year, the Johor government proposed a bill for the establishment of a Johor Housing and Property Institution which would give Sultan Ibrahim authority over the institution's accounts and a direct hand in the development of real estate in Johor.

The bill, which was met with fierce opposition from various quarters, was tabled and passed by the Johor legislative assembly with amendments that either limited or removed the Sultan’s power in the proposed housing board.

The amendments no longer gave the Sultan the power to determine the remuneration or allowances of board members in the Johor Property and Housing Commission (JPHC).

The Sultan’s power to direct any person to investigate the books, accounts and transactions of the board was removed, and he does not have the power to direct the board to be wound up and dissolved.

The board does not have to submit to the ruler the accounts, an estimate of the expenses or a report of its activities, nor does it require the Sultan’s approval to establish a corporation.

Instead, those powers are vested solely in the state authority.

The Sultan can only appoint members of the board on the advice of the menteri besar.

Additionally, either the sultan or the menteri besar can decide to revoke a member’s appointment, as opposed to the Sultan having the sole authority to do so. – The Malaysian Insider