Can House speaker vote against Selangor MB?

As party-less Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim engages in a tug-of-war with PKR and DAP over whether he really has majority support in the state assembly, a vote of confidence on him in the House appears increasingly likely.

The scenario has put a spotlight on state assembly speaker Hannah Yeoh, specifically on whether she can vote or not when a motion of no confidence against Khalid comes up.

This is central as DAP and PKR, including the speaker and deputy speaker, have 28 state assemblypersons, exactly half of the votes in the house.

Meanwhile, PAS' 15 state assemblypersons, coupled with Umno's 12 state assemblypersons as well as Khalid himself would also give them 28 votes.

Therefore the speaker's vote is only enough to keep Pakatan in a tie with the pro-Khalid faction and ensure the coalition does not become a minority in Selangor.

In certain Westminister systems, such as Australia, the speaker is not allowed to vote even though he or she is an elected representative, unless it is to break a tie.

So in the case of Selangor, can the speaker vote when chairing the state assembly?

'Selangor constitution is silent'

Constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari said the Selangor constitution does not address this matter.

"As far as I know there is no law that prevents the speaker or the deputy speaker from voting in any circumstance.

"As such, with the law being silent, I am inclined to say that it is permissible," Aziz  (left) told Malaysiakini when contacted.

Furthermore, he said, ultimately the speaker has the final say in interpreting the rules on the state assembly as the courts are not allowed to interfere.

"No court can review or substitute the state assembly speaker's decision or ruling. This underlines the position of the House within the doctrine of separation of powers.

"The court, in any case, is just there to interpret the law. The House is the one that legislates," Aziz added.

The finality of the speaker's power in the Selangor Legislative Assembly  is likely to give DAP's speaker, and by extension, its ally PKR, an upper hand.

'Implied rights'

Aziz said the speaker is not allowed to vote if he or she is not an elected representative, such as in the case of Pandikar Amin Mulia in the Dewan Rakyat.

Echoing this, Universiti Malaya law professor Gurdial Singh Nijar said Article 71(1)(b) of the Selangor Constitution implies that the speaker can vote.

"It says that a non-state assemblyperson can be appointed a speaker of the assembly but then such a person cannot vote on any matter before the assembly.

"This suggests that if the speaker is a state assemblyperson, then the speaker can vote," Gurdial (left) said.

Both PKR and DAP have agreed to replace Khalid with PKR pesident Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as menteri besar.

However, PAS, the sole dissenting member in Pakatan Rakyat, is still in support of retaining Khalid as the menteri besar.

Last Saturday, PKR expelled Khalid from the party for refusing the party's instruction to resign as menteri besar.