Sivakumar daring, says Parliament speaker

(The Star) – The Perak State Assembly Speaker was daring to suspend the Mentri Besar and the six exco members, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said yesterday.

“If I were him, I would not have dared to do it.” That was Pandikar’s brief comment on the situation in Perak.

Pandikar Amin, who was mobbed for his comments the moment he stepped out from Dewan Rakyat said that as the Perak Speaker, V. Sivaku—mar should know what he was doing when he decided to suspend the seven.

Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the decision by the Committee of Special Privileges to suspend Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and other exco members was not valid.

“When Pakatan Rakyat was state government, it did not reflect this composition because there was only one Barisan MP present. And when the new Mentri Besar was appointed, he should have re-convened a new committee to reflect this composition,” he said.

Dr Wan Junaidi, a lawyer by profession, also said that any decision by the committee should be reported in writing to the assembly without first divulging it to the media.

“It is only when the assembly has approved the report that the decision becomes final.”

Asked who could declare the decision by the committee to be “invalid”, Dr Wan Junaidi said the matter could be brought to court.

“However, if the court says it has no jurisdiction, then it should go back to the House,” he said.

In George Town, Penang State Assembly Speaker Abdul Halim Hussain said Sivakumar’s decision should be respected by everyone.

He said the Speaker had the discretion to act under the state’s Standing Order and the state constitution.

In Alor Setar, Kedah State Assembly Speaker Datuk Dr Abdul Isa Ismail defended the move by his Perak counterpart, saying the Speaker had the right to suspend anyone showing contempt to the House.

“A Speaker has the highest power within the context of the House. He can take action deemed fit to protect the House,” he said.