Cabinet cannot decide to refer Takiyuddin to rights committee, says PAS man

Information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari says the Federal Constitution states that only the Dewan Rakyat can determine disciplinary action for MPs.

PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said the Cabinet decision sets a dangerous precedent against the doctrine of separation of powers.

PETALING JAYA:

 The Cabinet has “overreached” in its move to refer Kota Bharu MP Takiyuddin Hassan to Parliament’s rights and privileges committee, says PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari.

Fadhli said Article 62(1) of the Federal Constitution states that only the Dewan Rakyat can determine disciplinary action for MPs, through its internal processes.

“The executive has no power to direct motions or order for MPs to be referred to any committee,” he said in a Facebook post this evening.

Article 62(1) says subject to the constitution’s provisions and those of federal law, “each House of Parliament shall regulate its own procedure”.

Earlier today, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said the Cabinet had decided to refer Takiyuddin to the committee over his remarks linking a maritime enforcement operation to the Memali incident.

She said yesterday’s motion to suspend Takiyuddin for six months would be revised to formally allow him to be referred to the committee.

However, Fadhli said given Parliament’s independence from the executive, the Cabinet’s move “has no legal basis, violates Parliament’s jurisdiction, and sets a dangerous precedent against the doctrine of separation of powers”.

“Parliamentary matters must be determined in Parliament by the speaker according to the Standing Orders, and not via political decisions by the executive,” he said. - FMT