A party leadership’s interpretation of its constitution is final and cannot be challenged by the courts, said former Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun on a talk show titled “Bersama Wan Saiful” yesterday.
He said the Dewan Rakyat speaker also has no right to interfere in how a party leadership interprets its constitution.
Azhar (above) said this to the show’s host Bersatu MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan when the latter asked about the status of the six rogue party MPs who voiced support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“The speaker has no right to (interpret) party decisions and it is in line with current laws.
“If we look at the Societies Act 1966, there is one section that says the interpretation by a party’s leadership of its constitution is final and cannot be questioned by the courts.
“If that is the case with the courts, with all due respect, it should be the same for the speaker too,” he said.
However, he did not specify the section mentioned in the interview.
On June 12, Bersatu issued termination notices to six of its elected representatives who had pledged support for the ruling Madani government.
Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said termination notices for the six were delivered and their Bersatu memberships would be terminated with immediate effect, citing a violation of Article 10.4 of the party constitution.
For Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman, Hamzah said the notice of his immediate termination was issued earlier on May 17 for violating Article 10.2.6 of the constitution.
“The entire process is done in accordance with the party constitution and national laws as provided under Article 49A of the Federal Constitution and/or relevant state laws,” the Larut MP was reported as saying.
The MPs are Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjong Karang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), and Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan).
Azizi is also the Nenggiri assemblyperson.
Elaborating on the matter, Azhar said according to Article 49(a) of the Federal Constitution, any MP can send a notice to the house speaker regarding a seat vacancy in the Dewan Rakyat due to unforeseen circumstances.
And once the notice is given, the speaker will have 21 days to act on it, which includes ascertaining whether the seat is vacant or otherwise.
“How that is ascertained is up to the speaker because there is no hard and fast rule to it.
“But once the vacancy is established, the speaker must act accordingly and inform the Election Commission,” he said.
Two different rulings?
On that note, Wan Saiful asked about a possible scenario where the Dewan Rakyat speaker and Kelantan state assembly speaker could give differing rulings, given that Azizi is both Gua Musang MP and Nenggiri assemblyperson.
To this, Azhar replied: “Technically that is possible because while the Dewan Rakyat speaker derives his powers from the Federal Constitution, the state speaker gets his authority from the state constitution.
“But if the law is the same but a different ruling is given, it would look odd because there is no uniformity in the application of the law.” - Mkini
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