DAP: Azalina usurped speaker's power, again

Umno’s Azalina Othman Said had usurped the power of Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia again when she claimed the arrest of Rafizi Ramli outside Parliament gate was legally correct.

This was according to DAP Seremban parliamentarian Anthony Loke, who noticed the minister had again pre-empted the speaker.

“She went against the speaker, usurping his power again. The speaker has yet to make the ruling. The speaker had said he wanted to look into the matter as to the venue (of the arrest).

“Does Azalina have a higher position than the speaker? This is not Putrajaya and the Prime Minister's Office, the speaker is the highest authority here,” said Loke, who is also DAP whip.

The was the second time Azalina had usurped the power of the speaker, he noted.

Azalina had defended the arrest of PKR Pandan lawmaker Rafizi outside the Parliament gate under the Official Secrets Act, claiming the move was in line with the Criminal Procedure Code.

She claimed that the immunity was only granted to the lawmakers who speak in front of the House.

Earlier today, the speaker claimed that he was unable to make a ruling as to whether the inspector-general of police has violated a parliamentary standing order and if his scope of power included the road outside the Parliament gate.

Pandikar also noted the police will serve the speaker a notice if they want to take action inside the Parliament compound.

Pandikar had hit out at Azalina for usurping his power by claiming the RM2.6 billion donation cannot be discussed in Parliament before he had made a ruling on the issue.

"You are usurping the power of the speaker. That is a mistake.

"Never, never any minister repeat that. This is the power of the speaker," he said on March 28.

He said the people would perceive the speaker as a “yes man” (if his power was usurped).

Pandikar's outburst came about when opposition lawmakers asked the speaker to rule if discussing the RM2.6 billion issue constitutes sub judice.

Azalina refused to entertain questions on the RM2.6 billion ‘donation’ banked into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's personal accounts, citing Standing Order 23(1)(g), where the matter is being reviewed by the courts. -Mkini