Sivakumar calls for Perak assembly sitting
(The Nut Graph) – Another showdown at the Perak legislative assembly is slated for 2 Sept 2009.
Embattled Perak Speaker V Sivakumar is calling for a sitting of state assembly to debate the royal address delivered on 7 May.
In a letter that will be sent out to assemblypersons tomorrow, the contents of which were made available to the media today, Sivakumar said the 7 May assembly sitting was disrupted because he was dragged out by police before the royal speech was delivered.
He said his orders as speaker on that day were also defied by Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblypersons and the three independents.
In February, Sivakumar suspended seven representatives, including the BN installed Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, and six of Zambry's executive councillors. He also deemed the three BN-friendly independents who left Pakatan Rakyat to have resigned from their seats.
On 7 May, Sivakumar had ordered them to leave the House before opening the sitting. When they refused, fighting ensued in the state assembly until police were called in what was an unprecedented breach of the state legislature.
In his letter today, Sivakumar said "one [Datuk] Ganesan a/l Retanam asked the police to enter the assembly and dragged me out", referring to the BN-installed speaker whom Sivakumar is suing for battery, assault and false imprisonment.
Ganesan
Sivakumar is also asking the court to declare him as the rightful speaker.
"It is my duty as the lawful speaker of the Perak assembly to ensure that the affairs and proceedings are conducted in accordance with the Perak constitution and the standing orders of the Perak legislative assembly.
"It is clear that no business was transacted after the royal speech on 7 May 2009. Similarly, no business can be done before the royal speech.
"Therefore, as speaker, I now announce that notice to all members will be issued for the assembly to sit on 2 Sept 2009 to debate the royal address and to attend to all other business," Sivakumar wrote, signing off as the "Yang Di-Pertua" of the legislative assembly.
