A feast on the inner workings of the Dewan Rakyat

 

From Philip TN Koh

Ariff Yusof’s “Parliament Unexpected: Recollections of Parliament, Politics and Pandemic in Malaysia” is an exhilarating and enjoyable book.

The writer, whose professional passage is from academia through legal practice, regulatory agency and judicial service to the Dewan Rakyat, has served a feast for any reader interested in eavesdropping on a tumultuous period of political change and jousting in the Dewan Rakyat.

Ariff served as Dewan Rakyat speaker after the 2018 general election, from July 16, 2018 until he was voted out on July 13, 2020.

The tone of the writing is both irenic and often ironic. The wry wit, the non-polemical style and gracious concession to human conflicts driven by the hubris for power to hold or grasp are charted in winsome prose.

None need fear hearing a self-righteous justification of a disaffected former speaker of the august assembly of one of our great democratic institutions.

Those who appreciated Ariff’s earlier learned text on parliamentary practice (what lawyers termed as our own “Erskine May”) will also not be disappointed.

In Part Four of the book, the writer captures for us in riveting detail the political storm that led to his ouster from the office of Dewan Rakyat speaker.

As befitting a jurist, Ariff’s exposition of parliamentary practices and also constitutional law is invigorating, and under his expert guidance, even the non-specialist will find illumination and insights in the book. His English translations from the Hansard of the exchanges between MPs are gems.

Retired Federal Court judge Zainun Ali’s foreword put it so well: “The author’s passion for his duty as Speaker of Dewan Rakyat is palpable and tangible.”

The robust afterword by Munir Majid – on the contesting exchange between then attorney-general Tommy Thomas and Ariff on the Standing Orders over whether a vote of confidence can take precedence over the business of government – is itself worth the price of the book.

Alongside such narratives, readers will savour the poignancy and perplexities of a constitutionalist discharging his duties as, in his words, “constitutional law is but applied and structured political process.”

We as a concerned citizenry are grateful for such a man who held one of the highest constitutional offices and who has also left us a legacy of his thoughts. - FMT

Philip TN Koh is adjunct professor at Universiti Malaya and Universiti Monash Malaysia.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.