MEDIA STATEMENT
TRUMP-ANWAR AGREEMENT- Signing First, Justifying Later: A Dangerous Abuse of Power
The Prime Minister has failed in his fundamental duty to safeguard the integrity of Malaysia’s parliamentary democracy, particularly his constitutional obligation under Article 43(3) of the Federal Constitution, which requires that the Cabinet be collectively responsible to Parliament.
What has now emerged from the Prime Minister’s statement in Parliament yesterday is deeply troubling. He has admitted that this agreement still requires “adjustments,” “clarifications,” and even written guarantees before it can be considered final. This admission alone exposes a deeply flawed and constitutionally dangerous process.
The principle is simple and universally understood:
No one signs an agreement first and negotiates its essential terms or seek guarantees later.
In any functioning democracy, negotiations on agreements affecting the nation come first. Terms are finalised. Safeguards are secured. Only then is an agreement signed. What we are witnessing here is the exact opposite—an inversion of due process that threatens both good governance and constitutional order.
Even more alarming is the suggestion that key issues are only now being brought before the Cabinet for discussion—after the agreement was signed.
Equally disturbing is the Prime Minister’s own admission that guarantees affecting Malaysia’s economic sovereignty were given orally, not in writing. Matters of national sovereignty are not footnotes. They are not negotiable afterthoughts. They are foundational.
A Prime Minister is not merely the head of government. He is the custodian of the Constitution, the protector of institutions, and the trustee of the people’s mandate.
When international agreements are signed without clear Cabinet deliberation, without parliamentary scrutiny, and without written guarantees protecting national interests, what is being eroded is not just policy—but the very foundation of parliamentary democracy.
Ratification is not meant to rescue a defective agreement. It is a formal process that follows the fulfilment of all domestic legal and constitutional requirements. It is not a tool for damage control.
I must also express my sympathy for the newly appointed Trade Minister, Datuk Seri Johari Ghani, who is now being tasked with cleaning up the consequences of decisions made hastily by the Prime Minister and his predecessor. This is not a burden he should have inherited.
Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy
President/Chair
Malaysian Advancement Party
HINDRAF
21.1.26