YOURSAY | ‘Isn't Parliament reform part of the MOU?’

Report: Senior minister 'blocks' Nga from chairing sitting

Senior minister 'interfering' in speaker's decision goes against reforms – lawyer

Gobind dares Azmin to admit blocking Nga, Azhar says he changed his mind

BobbyO: Can a senior minister interfere in the powers of the House speaker or even in the proceedings in Parliament?

If senior ministers do not have the authority to interfere in the proceedings, then this individual should be named and shamed to stop future disruptions from happening. It can also serve as a warning to other senior ministers.

What is going down in Parliament? Don't they have rules written down as to who has the authority to do so?

If from the beginning our politicians, the speaker and the many top civil servants had any integrity or principles in them, our nation would not be in this condition.

Today, only in this nation that corruption is classified as a donation, or a matter between a willing giver and taker, or the money is being used for religious activities and whatever excuses they can find.

Nothing happens to those who have committed such crimes. Instead, they are forgiven and forgotten, leaving them to be braver in exerting their authority. Authority that they do not possess.

It is time leaders who are appointed make their stand. If they do not exert their authority and correct the wrongs, there will come a time when we see warlords or little Napoleons rising up and demanding more authority and power.

Blocking Teluk Intan MP Nga Kor Ming from chairing the Dewan Rakyat is against the laws of the august House.

Vijay47: Azhar Azizan Harun, you are the speaker of Parliament. Yet the public cannot be faulted if it believes that you have converted it into a family-run gerai nasi lemak.

The sad streak running through your entire tenure of speaker is that you appear unable or unwilling to acknowledge that your stewardship reeks of being thrust upon you, made only worse by the fact that you are unworthy to hold such office.

Anyone who would boldly identify the “senior minister” who ordered the withdrawal of the invitation to Nga would have done so only with the strongest of confidence. Yet neither you nor your ally Rashid Hasnon was honourable enough to allow International Trade and Industries Minister Azmin Ali to answer the question directly posed to him by Gobind Singh Deo (Harapan-Puchong).

Switching off the microphone is not something expected when delicate questions are raised in Parliament. It would be more regarded as an act of cowardice.

The senior minister concerned would certainly be eternally grateful that you have got his back.

Your explanation that you had a change of mind is unbelievable and pathetic at best. No doubt, you would peevishly add that there is nothing in the Standing Orders that prevents the speaker from revising his stand.

Is Parliament to be guided by the speaker’s whims and fancies? On what grounds was your initial invitation to Nga based, and far, far more importantly, why did you withdraw it?

Change of mind, you say? Like I asked earlier, has Parliament been reduced to gerai nasi lemak?

Mazilamani: Mr PM, what is happening to the concord reached between the government and the opposition? Who wields so much power to override the will of the prime minister?

Let this not be a face-off between Umno and Bersatu, for it will allow outsiders to further exploit the "misunderstanding" between them. Are they forgetting that the general election may be just 10 months away?

Dr Raman Letchumanan: DAP’s Lim Guan Eng, what say you now? The opposition can't even chair an afternoon session, how to get appointed as third deputy speaker? You believe the government will go to the extent of amending the constitution just for Nga. You guys must be in dreamland.

Why didn't you complain to the prime minister, telling him Pakatan Harapan has 105 votes to back him up if Bersatu, the senior minister who I guess comes from, pulls out. Isn't Parliament reform part of the MOU?

As a parliamentary democracy, Malaysians voted in 222 MPs to represent them. The Dewan Rakyat is the highest law-making body to chart the course of governance in Malaysia by enacting laws and approving the budget for the executive and civil service to adhere to and govern.

The judiciary acts as the check and balance to ensure the laws are justly applied to the people, and justice is done by rule of law, no matter who the person is.

The speaker in essence is a nobody in this scheme of governance and rule. He could just be one of the elected representatives, and in this case, the speaker is not one elected as an MP.

Therefore, we had high hopes that he will act independently of the executive. He is there to facilitate the conduct of the meetings, to listen to the MPs, but not to direct them, worse still make controversial decisions.

The past 18 months have shown how controversial this speaker has been. In particular, denying the democratic vote of confidence on the prime minister, and denying the opportunity of the people to find out the truth of what the king has decreed.

Now he famously said he went back on his own written instruction, saying he changed his mind, but not before questions were raised. Is he honest and sincere, or covering up?

Can such an unelected representative muffle the Constitution, the interests of the people, and the voice of our elected representatives? Will such transgressions continue to be the hallmark of the speaker moving forward?

What is the meaning of the reform MOU if the most basic of parliamentary reforms is trampled upon by someone we didn't elect to represent us?

It is time like-minded MPs from both divides uphold the supremacy of Parliament, of Constitution over the Standing Orders, of the Parliament over the executive.

We cannot have a speaker who changes his mind at his whim and fancy and claims the Standing Orders allows for it. Even for such a simple task of getting someone else to stand in for him.

It is time for a motion to change the speaker in the first instance. And to ditch the so-called reform MOU.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.