PETALING JAYA: The practice by the government of "rewarding" former prime ministers for their services should be guided by law or referred to Parliament, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Pejuang - Langkawi).

       The former prime minister claimed that the government currently acts as if it has more power than the Federal Constitution where it can do anything it wants without referring to Parliament.

       An instance of such a practice, he said, is the decision to “reward” former prime ministers for their contribution to the country.

       He said there is no law that defines how much this gift could be but due to the consideration and the powers of the government, there is an agreement that a gift can be given to retired premiers as a sign that the country appreciated their contributions.

       However, Dr Mahathir said even in the private sector, the highest value of a gift is only limited to a Rolex watch as a sign of appreciation to an employee who has contributed to the company.

       “What we see in the government is that what is given is much more than a Rolex watch even though this is not the practice in the past,” he said during his debate on the motion of thanks on the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (March 7).

       He added that under Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, and Tun Hussein Onn, they were only given the house that they had lived in.

       Dr Mahathir added when he retired, he was offered a piece of land but rejected it. Instead, he said he had offered to purchase it.

       He then said that this changed during Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s time when he was gifted with RM70mil.

       “RM70mil was given without referring to this Dewan or to any laws that can define the value of this gift,” he said.

       He also chided Datuk Seri Najib Razak (BN - Pekan) for having written a letter to the government requesting that he be given RM100mil for his contributions as prime minister despite undergoing corruption trials linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

       Dr Mahathir said that this was also not brought to the Dewan Rakyat or referred to any laws.

       He said there are no provisions in the laws that states that such a value can be given to a former prime minister.

       “We must return to the country’s constitution in which everything that has to be done must be done in an orderly manner. This Dewan too must be a Dewan that is referred to every time the government wants to do something.

       “Let us give the government the power, but the power is limited to the enacted laws, especially the Constitution. The Constitution determines to what extent we can create laws, and if there isn’t a law, we can create new ones. But the new laws cannot contradict the Constitution,” he said.

       He also said that if the laws in the country are being ignored, chaos will ensue, adding that the country must follow the rule of law.