Malacca's new chief minister Sulaiman Ali's bid to remove state assembly speaker Omar Jaafar hit a snag when the latter rejected four of the six motions he submitted.
The motions concerned the removal of the speaker and deputy speaker as well as the appointment of their replacements.
Omar, who was appointed under the Pakatan Harapan state government on July 19, 2018, said he is not rejecting the idea that the speaker can be replaced.
“But I reject that it be discussed during this proceeding on the grounds that it is generally stated in the constitution and the Standing Orders (SO).
“There is no specific standard operating procedure (SOP) on how you go about doing it so there will be a lot of problems. There are no detailed manuals.
“I don’t want to go against what is in the constitution but there is no precedent for a speaker to be disposed of.
“The speaker is not appointed, it is an elected position… elected by the state assembly. So how do we go about (removing the speaker)?” he told Malaysiakini.
For example, Omar said, some states do it through other means such as statutory declarations (SDs) from the assemblypersons.
“They want to do that because there is no clear line on how to go about achieving it,” he added.
He also referenced what transpired during the Perak state assembly in May 2009 where the then speaker V Sivakumar was physically removed from his chair and dragged out of the chambers to allow his replacement R Ganesan to take over.
He said the reason things turned chaotic is because of the absence of a “real and detailed SOP” on how to remove a speaker.
“My reason for (rejecting the motion) is - yes you want to achieve something but I want to make sure what you intend to achieve is according to procedure.
“Otherwise, if you don't make the right move… it can be contested in court and it is going to be a disgrace.I am just postponing it to another proceeding,” he added.
The upcoming state assembly sitting is scheduled for next Monday and is expected to run for about 90 minutes starting at 9.30am.
Will the Perak incident happen in Malacca?
Meanwhile, Omar pointed out that he approved two other motions from the chief minister, one on the appointment of a senator and the other on the appointments of chairpersons for three committees.
The speaker also said he received a notice for an emergency motion today from former chief minister Adly Zahari related to Covid-19, which was given the green light as well.
DAP's Kota Laksamana assemblyperson Low Chee Leong told Malaysiakini that what happened in Perak in 2009 could take place in Malacca next week due to the speaker rejecting the motions.
“They (Perikatan Nasional state government) are desperate for power.
“They should be focusing on Covid-19 but they are desperate,” he said, adding that the PN state government might attempt to table an emergency motion to remove the speaker on Monday.
Quizzed on this, Omar replied that anything can happen in politics.
“It is something we cannot speculate.
“But I think since I have already rejected (the motions) and there are no questions from the one who proposed the motions, as far as I am concerned, my decision is final,” he stressed.
The chief minister, who is also Umno's Lendu assemblyperson, was appointed on March 9 after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan state government.
The previous administration crumbled after Bersatu assemblyperson Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen and three others withdrew from the coalition. - Mkini
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