Sivakumar confirms sitting to go ahead tomorrow, slams sabotage most foul
(Suara keADILan) – Perak legislative Speaker V Sivakumar has clarified the emergency sitting of the state assembly was valid and legal and would go ahead as planned on Tuesday.
News of tomorrow’s sitting had drawn sharp objection from BN Menteri Besar Zambry Kadir, who faces being unseated at the meeting, and from Deputy Premier Najib Abdul Razak, whose credibility will be severely dented if that happens.
“I think the whole world is going to laugh at us if anyone prevents us from holding the state assembly,” Sivakumar said.
“If the power to call a sitting can be taken from the Speaker, what democratic values will future generations inherit? We do not want our children to live in a half-baked democracy.”
Sivakumar also said there was sufficient quorum even if Umno Barisan Nasional assemblymen decided against attending.
He warned that those who obstructed or tried to obstruct the assembly proceedings would be deemed to have acted in contempt of the House.
Two motions are due to be tabled on Tuesday. One is a vote of confidence in Pakatan Rakyat’s Nizar Jamaluddin as Menteri Besar and the other is a vote to dissolve the state assembly, a move aimed at returning the mandate to the people of Perak to choose the leadership they wanted.
Said Pantai Remis MP Nga Kor Ming: “Once the motion of confidence for Nizar is passed, it means Zambry has lost confidence of the majority in the house and must therefore resign.”
Sabotage most foul
Sivakumar also slammed assembly secretary Abdullah Antong Sabri for issuing an unauthorised statement, stressing that the latter was not empowered to either interpret the state constitution nor the Standing Orders of the legislature.
Said Perak DAP chairman Ngeh Koo Ham: “It is uncharacteristic of the clerk of the House to usurp the Speaker and start interpreting the rules of assembly without knowledge or permission of the Speaker
Said Selangor state assembly Speaker Teng Chang Kim: “As far as rules are concerned, the secretary can only take orders from the Speaker as head of the legislature and the sole authority to interpret standing orders.”
“The only reason he would go against the Speaker is if he is taking orders from the executive. This is a good case for instituting reforms to make the legislature truly independent of the executive.”
The secretary had tried to sabotage the sitting by saying it did not have the consent of the Perak Sultan as required by the Standing Orders and the state constitution.
However, Sivakumar’s lawyers have explained that because the last meeting of the Perak assembly held in November was adjourned sine die and not prorogued or dissolved, the Sultan’s consent was not required this time.
“The emergency sitting is the fourth meeting of the first session of the 12th assembly so the Speaker has the power to call the meeting,” said Sivakumar’s legal counsel Augustine Anthony.
“If it was prorogued, only the Sultan of Perak can summon the Assembly,” said his other counsel Chan Kok Keong.
“The consent was granted before and it is still in force,” explained Nga.
Don’t cheat, why so afraid of fresh election?
Meanwhile, PAS vice-president Husam Musa said Umno-BN would do better to seek a dissolution of the assembly rather than resort to cheating to cling to power.
Najib and his Umno party should not fear fresh state-wide polls even if they were not confident of winning.
Stressing that there were three options open to Umno, Husam said: “The first is to dissolve the assembly, the second is to detain Pakatan Rakyat leaders involved under the Internal Security Act and the third is to place Perak under a National Operations Council.
“However, I think if Pakatan leaders are detained under the ISA, their profile would be even higher and if the state is placed under a National Operations Council, the government’s image would be tarnished. Dissolution is the only option.”
His views were echoed by Transparency International, which has reiterated its recommendation to return the mandate to the people.
Said Ramon Navaratnam, president of Transparency International: “The situation in Perak has reached a stage where all parties – even the Palace – must display the utmost transparency and neutrality in their actions.
“Just pronouncing precepts is not enough, there must be follow-through and one must practice what one preaches. Only then can one regain the respect and confidence of the rakyat.
“The question that must be answered now is – are we a democracy? If we are, then the rights and wishes of the people must be respected above all else. This is what a democracy is about – if they are not, then we are not a democracy. Full stop, it is as basic as that.”
