There are many candidates from among retired senior judges who could be appointed as the new Dewan Rakyat speaker, National Human Rights Society chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan said today.
In a series of tweets, the former Bar Council chief said there are many distinguished former judges whose appointment would help to restore the dignity of parliament.
"Parliament is the third arm of government and needs reforms.
"A speaker must be familiar with the constitution, laws and must command the respect of the House," she said in support of calls for Pakatan Harapan leaders to consider looking beyond the list of their elected MPs.
In arguing that the new speaker should be a person who is independent, Ambiga said there is a list of retired Court of Appeal judges who would meet the criteria.
She also stressed that Harapan's decision should not be made based on political considerations, despite its election manifesto promise that the speaker would be appointed from among its elected MPS.
"(Harapan's) manifesto may say it (speaker) should be (an) MP. But if (an) excellent candidate chosen, people will accept," she said, with a mention for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's official Twitter account.
Ambiga's comments were made in response to Fortify Rights legal director Eric Paulsen, who in a series of tweets this morning argued that having an MP as a speaker might not necessarily be a good thing for democratic reforms.
Paulsen (photo) later told Malaysiakini that Harapan leaders should not be tied down to the coalition's manifesto promise if they did not currently have a suitable candidate.
“It's such a crucial position for our parliament and democracy to flourish, and therefore it should be the best candidate from a wider pool of candidates, rather than be confined to just MPs,” he said when contacted.
“If the speaker is known to be a staunch party loyalist, questions will surely arise as to his or her partisanship and it will certainly take a while before he or she can gain the trust and credibility as an impartial speaker,” he said.
“…there’s bound to be political baggage and questions of partisanship.
“Therefore maybe worthwhile for the government to consider (appointing) a non-MP as speaker. A respected former judge or lawyer perhaps?” he added.
If the Speaker/ MP is known to be a staunch party loyalist, questions will surely arise as to his/ her partisanship & it will certainly take a while before he or she can gain the trust and credibility as an impartial Speaker.
Having an MP as a Speaker may not necessarily be a good thing as there's bound to be political baggage & questions of partisanship.
Therefore maybe worthwhile for the PH govt to consider a non MP as Speaker - a respected former judge/ lawyer perhaps?
At the same time, Paulsen said the candidate’s integrity and ability to act in a fair manner would be more important than the issue of whether the speaker is elected from among MPs or otherwise.
“Being a speaker MP may not be an objectionable condition, but he or she must be of the highest integrity and must also abandon party politics.
“Is the person (MP) willing to do so?” he questioned.
The civil rights lawyer was responding to English daily The Star’s report today that quoted sources who said Harapan leaders held a closed-door meeting at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya last night, believed to be on the subject of the Dewan Rakyat speaker.
The report also quoted sources who said the speaker candidate would likely be an MP from PKR or DAP, given that a majority of Bersatu and Amanah MPs had been appointed to other positions in the government.
“If you zoom in, Amanah is left with two MPs while the ones left in Pribumi (Bersatu) are first-timers who may be too green to carry the heavy responsibilities,” the source was quoted as saying.
Harapan secretariat chief Saifuddin Abdullah had previously said that the coalition would stick to its general elections manifesto to appoint a speaker from among its elected parliamentarians.
He also said the appointment of the new speaker will take place next Monday - the first day of the new Parliament session - before all members of the Dewan Rakyat take their oaths. -Mkini
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