PETALING JAYA – Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun is sticking to his guns and remains unfazed by a viral video from five years ago that seems to contradict his stand on a no-confidence motion against the prime minister.
It is not up to the speaker to decide whether to give priority to such a motion, he said, and this is also the parliamentary practice in other Commonwealth countries.
The 2015 clip from his video blog Art of the Matter sees Azhar, popularly known as Art Harun, explaining why a private member’s bill was delayed by the speaker.
In the video, he said government bills take precedence over non-government matters.
“Now, can the speaker do that in respect of a no-confidence vote? The answer is ‘no’. Because, again, by constitutional practice, a motion of no confidence must be brought first on the list.
“That is by convention or constitutional practice. It is not by law.”
Speaking to Free Malaysia Today, Azhar, who became speaker in July, said: “Yes, I did say constitutional practice and convention would dictate that the motion of no confidence would be listed first. Yes, I did say that. I’m not denying that.
“But the question is, how? People say it is listed first by the speaker. I have demonstrated that the speaker does not have the power to do so.”
He also said this in a recent correspondence with Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who requested a “guarantee” that a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will be raised at the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.
Azhar said the Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat, parliamentary practice in Australia, as well as UK constitutional conventions – which Malaysian civil society groups have said are applicable here – do not provide the speaker with the power to decide on putting a non-government motion first.
“In the UK, a motion of no confidence will be listed first if the government accedes to the request of the opposition leader to do so,” he said, adding that in Australia, it is up to the relevant minister to decide if the motion is listed first.
“In Malaysia, Standing Order 14(2) states that a no-confidence motion can be prioritised if the minister (responsible for parliamentary matters) moves a motion for it to be heard or debated above everything else.
“So, I have not denied what I said before. I said convention would dictate that the motion would be listed first, but how is this done? It is not done by the speaker acceding to a request, but for the government to accede to the request.”
Earlier, Azhar told The Vibes that while he acknowledges the 2015 video, it does not contradict his current stance.
“How is it (the motion) brought first? Is it by the speaker? I have said that he cannot.
“You have to understand the nuances, the finer points,” he said, referring to the Standing Orders and conventions.
He suggested that people read his statement on Friday that explains his position.
“Read what I wrote. I have taken the trouble to write a 2,100-word dissertation. No other speaker has done it.” – The Vibes, October 19, 2020
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