MIC: Senate presidents have always been political, even under Dr M

MIC Youth chief C Sivarraajh has come to his party president S Vigneswaran’s defence over a call for the latter to relinquish his party post in order to remain Dewan Negara president.

Earlier today, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng urged Vigneswaran to emulate Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof resigning from his posts in Amanah before assuming the role of Dewan Rakyat speaker.

In response, Sivarraajh said Senate presidents have always been politicians, even during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first tenure as prime minister.

He also pointed out that Ariff only gave up his posts in Amanah, but remains a member of the party.  

“There is no requirement for a speaker to be apolitical, and it must be stressed that the current Dewan Rakyat speaker is still an active member of Amanah, a component (party) of Pakatan Harapan.

“The post of the speaker has always traditionally been held by politicians, so why the sudden double standards in asking for Vigneswaran's resignation?” he asked in a statement today.

Sivarraajh added that the Federal Constitution does not bar an active politician from chairing the Upper House.

“Even during Mahathir’s first premiership, it was kept political,” he said when contacted.

All nine Senate presidents during Mahathir’s first tenure were members of BN component parties.

Gerakan’s Chan Choong Tak, for instance, was elected to lead the Dewan Negara in 1990 while holding leadership posts in his party.

Should state speakers resign too?

Lim had earlier questioned Vigneswaran’s political alignment, and said the latter should resign from his party posts to prove he was impartial.

Following this logic, Sivarraajh questioned if speakers in Harapan-led state assemblies should also resign for the sake of impartiality.

“Will Lim also be calling for the resignation of state assembly speakers who are politically affiliated in Harapan-controlled states?” he asked.

Perak assembly speaker Ngeh Koo Ham sits on the DAP central executive committee, while Johor assembly speaker Suhaizan Kaiat is Amanah’s national organising secretary.

Selangor assembly speaker Ng Suee Lim is also the state’s DAP publicity secretary.

Opposition Senate good for democracy

Should he not resign from being MIC president, Lim had said that Vigneswaran should step down to allow Harapan to install a Senate president of its choice.

Sivarraajh chastised this as a “backdoor way” to wrest control of the Upper House, contending that an opposition Senate president would fare well for democracy.

“Having a member of an opposition party as the Senate president can only further enhance the democracy and political diversity in this ‘New Malaysia’ that Harapan propagates.

“As such, they should be able to rise above political differences and judge key position holders based on merit, and not petty politicking alone,” he said.

Vigneswaran was appointed as the Dewan Negara president on April 26, 2016, under the then-BN administration.

He was elected uncontested as the new MIC president last week. -Mkini