Perak speaker has last say at tomorrow's sitting
Richard TeoPublished: May 6, 2009 10:16 AM | Updated: May 6, 2009 11:53 AM
I refer to the Malaysiakini report Zambry's appointment unconstitutional, court told.
There should be no confusion as to the role of the Perak state assembly speaker at tomorrow's sitting of the Perak legislative assembly in Ipoh.
The assembly sitting under the tree was a valid state assembly meeting. And that meeting's agenda, for all intent and purposes, had endorsed the suspension of BN Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six exco members.
The federal court had no jurisdiction to interfere with the decision of the legislature.
In addition, the speaker has every right to also ignore the decision of the federal court in that the Election Commission is the body to decide on the three seats supposedly vacated by the three Perak state assembly persons.
This also means that the speaker has every right to bar the three state assembly persons from participating in the sitting.
Therefore, at tomorrow's sitting, the speaker can further exercise his authority by disallowing Zambry and his members from participating in the assembly sitting. The suspension of Zambry and the six exco members by the speaker have not been rescinded and therefore remain valid.
The speaker has every right to ignore the federal court's decision declaring that the suspension was invalid as the federal court had acted ultra vires in making a decision on legislative procedure which was beyond the jurisdiction of the courts.
This was evident and clearly pointed out by many legal experts. The federal constitution under Article 72(1) prohibits state legislature proceedings from being subjected to judicial review.
In the absence of Zambry, the six exco members and the three state assembly persons who ‘hopped', the assembly sitting can resume and the motion of confidence on Pakatan Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin and his exco members can be moved and put to vote.
And since Pakatan members have a majority in the state legislature, whatever motion proposed can be passed with a simple majority.
Alternatively, the speaker can under the advice of the menteri besar, propose a motion to dissolve the assembly and seek permission from the ruler to carry out the motion.
That in essence means the speaker has the last say at tomorrow's assembly sitting.
There should be no confusion as to the role of the Perak state assembly speaker at tomorrow's sitting of the Perak legislative assembly in Ipoh.
The assembly sitting under the tree was a valid state assembly meeting. And that meeting's agenda, for all intent and purposes, had endorsed the suspension of BN Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six exco members.
The federal court had no jurisdiction to interfere with the decision of the legislature.
In addition, the speaker has every right to also ignore the decision of the federal court in that the Election Commission is the body to decide on the three seats supposedly vacated by the three Perak state assembly persons.
This also means that the speaker has every right to bar the three state assembly persons from participating in the sitting.
Therefore, at tomorrow's sitting, the speaker can further exercise his authority by disallowing Zambry and his members from participating in the assembly sitting. The suspension of Zambry and the six exco members by the speaker have not been rescinded and therefore remain valid.
The speaker has every right to ignore the federal court's decision declaring that the suspension was invalid as the federal court had acted ultra vires in making a decision on legislative procedure which was beyond the jurisdiction of the courts.
This was evident and clearly pointed out by many legal experts. The federal constitution under Article 72(1) prohibits state legislature proceedings from being subjected to judicial review.
In the absence of Zambry, the six exco members and the three state assembly persons who ‘hopped', the assembly sitting can resume and the motion of confidence on Pakatan Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin and his exco members can be moved and put to vote.
And since Pakatan members have a majority in the state legislature, whatever motion proposed can be passed with a simple majority.
Alternatively, the speaker can under the advice of the menteri besar, propose a motion to dissolve the assembly and seek permission from the ruler to carry out the motion.
That in essence means the speaker has the last say at tomorrow's assembly sitting.
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