Nga defends speaker’s right to reject motions

(NST) – While Barisan Nasional leaders are coy about any motion to boot out the speaker at the May 7 state assembly meeting, a DAP assemblyman is already defending the speaker's right to reject motions brought before the house.

Pantai Remis assemblyman Nga Kor Ming said yesterday this was already shown when Malacca assembly Speaker Datuk Othman Mohamad rejected an emergency motion last week.

The motion, by a DAP assemblyman, was to call for a vote of no-confidence against Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.

Nga said that if the speaker in Malacca could summarily reject a motion, so could Perak Speaker V. Sivakumar.

"You can't say that all that the BN speaker does is right and that all that a non-BN speaker does is wrong."

Nga said he was informed by sources within the state administration that BN would table an emergency motion to dismiss the speaker.

"This is the first time that such a thing would happen in our country. I am sad and shocked."

At the Malacca state assembly sitting on April 21, Othman only allowed Kesidang assemblyman Goh Leong San to read the title of the emergency motion, before he rejected it, saying that it was neither urgent nor involved public interest.

Othman had said that the motion, which questions the credibility of the chief minister, who was found guilty by the Umno disciplinary board of money politics and barred from contesting in the recent Umno elections, was irrelevant.

Nga said Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir was going against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's wishes by holding the May 7 meeting, as Najib had said on March 1 that the state assembly should not meet but wait for a court decision on the rightful Perak government.

"Does Zambry know ahead of time that the court will rule in his favour, even though the matter has yet to be heard? If so, where is the independence of the judiciary?

Asked if Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen would boycott the meeting, Nga said the matter would be discussed.

"I do not discount this possibility."