KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 – Once parliament is dissolved for a general election, the existing government becomes a caretaker government and will serve until the new government is formed after the election. During the transition period, the executive powers still rest with the prime minister and his cabinet who will carry out their functions.
The deputy speaker in the last Dewan Rakyat, Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar(Pic), said the caretaker government is actually the existing government and the ministers will discharge their duties and responsibilities as usual. This practice, which was adapted from the British system of administration, has been applied since independence.
“The present government will continue serving. The Cabinet continues to administer the country, and the national administration will remain unaffected in terms of the economic and political aspect. All the ministers will carry out their duties as usual,” he told Bernama.
However, he said, the powers of a caretaker government would be limited, confined to the daily duties without formulation of policies as the Dewan Rakyat has been dissolved.
“The functions of national administration remain the same, but as parliament is no longer functioning, no laws can be enacted,” he said. Wan Junaidi said the chief secretary to the government, as the chief implementer of policies, would continue to function as the highest-ranking civil servant without any additional powers because a parliamentary democracy only gives authority to the executive.
He said the term “caretaker government” was not stated in the Federal Constitution, but the system was the norm for countries practising parliamentary democracy.
BERNAMA
