History Will Forever Record The Day
"At 10.13 a.m. on 4 March 2009, under a yellow flame tree, Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar convened 28 Pakatan Rakyat state assemblypersons. Under the yellow flame tree, they held an unpredented State Assembly's emergency sitting…"
By LIM MUN FAH/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily
Although the High Court has pronounced a judgement that the meeting held under a tree was illegal, the "people's court" in coffee shops has made various "judgements" and interpretations.
Some highly praised State Legislative Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar's intelligence and courage to insist on the spirit of parliamentary democracy. They said that he will go down in history like Speaker of the House of Commons William Lenthall, who has safeguarded the authority of the British Parliament in 1642.
Malaysia's National and State Legislative Assemblies are inherited from the British tradition. Reviewing the history of how William Lenthall safeguarded the authority of the British Parliament can perhaps give us an ispiration.
According to the historical records, the British Parliament started to elect its own speaker in 1566, which has further implemented the parliamentary autonomy. But the then Tudor Dynasty was very strong and seven Speakers lost their lives in over a hundred years.
In 1642, a Speaker whose name was William Lenthall brought a major turning point to the British Parliamentary democracy. At that time, King of England, Scotland and Ireland Charles I intended to arrest five members of the House as he could not tolerate the Parliament's challenge against the autocratic monarchy. But William would rather die than to cooperate, he said, "I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House do direct me, whose servant I am."
William's courage to defend the House's democracy has forced Charles I to give up. Since then, the British monarch has no right to send troops to arrest any Member of the Parliament. Also, the incident has produced a fundamental change to the relationship between the British Monarch and House Speaker. The Speaker is no longer the King's trusted assistant. Instead, he has become the patron saint of the Parliament.
V. Sivakumar's historical position might not be comparable with William Lenthall. But similar to Buddha's enlightenment under the bodhi tree, Newton's discovery of gravity under the apple tree and Parameswara, who founded the Malacca Dynasty after seeing a deer under the Malacca tree, the history will forever record the day under the Yellow Flame tree:
"At 10.13 a.m. on 4 March 2009, under a yellow flame tree, Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar convened 28 Pakatan Rakyat state assemblypersons. Under the yellow flame tree, they held an unpredented State Assembly's emergency sitting…"
