Take responsibility for Imams gaffe, Najib told

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should take responsibility for the government’s U-turn on the Integrated Manasik Monitoring System (Imams), which was scrapped just a day after its launch, says constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari.

Abdul Aziz said it was wrong for Najib to disown the problem which had "embarrassed his administration."

"As the prime minister, he has to take the responsibility even though he may not know or did not have a part in it. This is the essence of the parliamentary system of government.

"Just like Dr Mahathir Mohamad who was the prime minister when Operasi Lalang took place in 1987; it was wrong for him to shift the responsibility to the police.

"The buck stops with the sitting government and thus the prime minister," Abdul Aziz said in a statement last night.

In a tweet yesterday, Najib voiced his disapproval of Imams, which was scrapped after public backlash following its launch on Friday.

Among others, there were concerns about having a non-Muslim top executive within the company tasked with managing the system.

Deputy Tourism and Culture Minister Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, said she was not aware that there was a non-Muslim in the company.

Abdul Aziz said Mas Ermieyati must also take responsibility for the furore surrounding the issue, given her role “as part of the political team - together with the tourism minister - who presides (over) the department that created and put the controversial system in place”.

"This is what is meant by the individual responsibility of a minister," the DAP member said.

Imams was meant to be compulsory for the umrah visa application process, and would have been imposed on all 65 tourism agencies that handle minor pilgrimages to Mecca in Malaysia.

The system was aimed at curbing umrah package frauds.

It would have incurred an overall charge of RM90.10 per pilgrim, comprising RM45 for using Imams, RM40 for a comprehensive umrah takaful insurance scheme, and GST.- Mkini