A motion to challenge former prime minister Najib Razak’s pardon has been filed to be raised at the Malaysian Bar’s annual general assembly tomorrow.

The motion has been filed by former Malaysian Bar president Zainur Zakaria. It states that the “incoming Bar Council, on behalf and in the name of the Malaysian Bar, challenges the legality of the said decision by the Pardons Board, by urgently instituting judicial review proceedings against the Pardons Board and Najib” (Malaysiakini, March 15).

It also stated that the Pardons Board is viewed as “acting ultra vires of Article 42 of the Federal Constitution, and in contravention of the law, in reducing Najib’s jail sentence to half and his fine to RM50 million” as quoted in the same Malaysiakini report.

If the Pardons Board’s pardon of Najib is unconstitutional, it is only right that it is challenged in court and what is constitutional is clearly defined by the court and must be adhered to. The question, however, is whether the Pardon’s Board will abide by the court decision.

Already, we have a situation where a state government has defied a Federal Court decision and nothing is being done about it.

A challenge, similar to Zainur’s motion, was mounted against the PAS-led Kelantan government’s 18 syariah criminal code provisions. The Federal Court nullified 16 but early this month, the Kelantan state legislative assembly passed a motion to re-enact the 16 provisions in a clear defiance of the Federal Court decision.

This is a very serious contravention of the constitution but why is the unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim keeping quiet about it? Isn’t it the responsibility of the federal government to make the state government conform to the laws of the land?

If the Kelantan state government is allowed to get away without complying with a Federal Court decision, what is the message that is communicated to the people? That the federal government is powerless to enforce the law of the land?

If the federal government decides to use force to make the Kelantan state government conform to the federal constitution, it would be seen as an abuse of power and make the unity government even more unpopular.

Besides, the Kelantan state government may dig in its heels and turn around and tell the unity government that it has no moral grounds to discipline the state when the constitutionality of the federal government itself is questionable.

As a response to Kelantan’s recent move, one voice expressed its concern. The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism (MCCBCHST) yesterday called on the Attorney-General (AG) to intervene in the Kelantan case and act to uphold constitutional democracy.

Can and will the AG act without the backing of the government?

The people are witnessing what will happen when governments fail to act according to the constitution. This is just the beginning. If this trend of allowing political and religious expediency to trump the federal constitution continues it may lead to the eventual slide in the enforcement of law and order.

No one must be silent on this fundamental basis for law and order — complying with the federal constitution. Like MCCBCHST, people must speak up and demand that their MPs conform with the federal constitution. If MPs and government leaders do not, they must know that their parliamentary and state seats are not assured.

MPs and and political leaders must understand that they will first be held only to the federal constitution. If they fail to comply with the federal constitution, nothing else justifies.