Zaid said the establishment of a Forfeiture Committee similar to the one in Britain would ensure the Malay rulers were not dragged into dirty politics and allegations of not being impartial.
“This not only protects the dignity of title-holders from being abused by those who oppose them, but also protects the rulers themselves from being accused of conduct unbecoming of a sovereign. Our respect for the rulers requires them to be always non-political, impartial, fair and transparent when performing their duties,” Zaid said in a blog post.
Britain’s Honours Forfeiture Committee is an ad hoc committee chaired by the head of the civil servants, and recommends to the Queen names of individuals whose royal titles should be revoked based on cases of misconduct.
Zaid said any explanation for revocation of royal titles should come from the prime minister and the state governments, who had recommended the royal titles to the Agong and state rulers.
“They should therefore also be responsible for explaining why the titles should be removed. It is not acceptable in this day and age for anyone, not even the Prime Minister or the Menteri Besar, to essentially say: ‘I can do what I like’,” he said.
Zaid’s comments come days after the Kelantan palace revoked the Datuk titles of state Amanah chief Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah and vice-president Husam Musa, as well as a royal title bestowed on Mahathir.
This led to accusations by Amanah that PAS leaders in Kelantan had a hand in the decision.
Zaid said the public should be informed why titles were stripped as it suggested that some misconduct had taken place.
“Why else would their titles be revoked?” he asked.
“Can the prime minister and the Kelantan menteri besar tell us what crime or dishonourable act Dr Mahathir, Husam and Wan Rahim committed that warranted shaming them publicly? Exactly what did they do to make them unfit to hold the titles that had been bestowed on them?”
Don’t comment on revoking of Dr M’s award, PPBM members told