KUALA LUMPUR, 8 May 2020:
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof said today he has accepted an application for a motion to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat to determine that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin does not command the confidence of the majority of the house.
He said Langkawi MP and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had made the application under Standing Order 27 (3) which pertains to the required number of days’ notice.
After studying the application based on the explanation presented, he decided to accept the application for the motion to be tabled at the upcoming sitting of the Dewan Rakyat, he said in a press statement today.
The Dewan Rakyat is scheduled to sit for one day on May 18. The house was originally scheduled to sit from March 9 to April 16 but this was postponed to May 18 to June 23 following a change of government – which saw Pagoh MP Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin being appointed the prime minister.
The government later decided to hold a one-day sitting, on May 18, in view of the Movement Control Order (MCO) that was imposed on March 18 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Attempts to contact the Speaker for clarification over the acceptance of the application for the motion to be brought to the Dewan Rakyat, at the May 18 sitting or later, was not successful.
Mohamad Ariff rejected another application brought by Dr Mahathir, under Standing Order 4, for the existing Speaker to be retained until the dissolution of the house, saying it did not comply with the Standing Orders.
Mohamad Ariff said since April 17, when the notice was issued for the First Meeting of the Third Session of the Dewan Rakyat, he had received four applications on motions from MPs, including the ones from Dr Mahathir.
Batu Sapi MP Datuk Liew Vui Keong had made an application under Standing Order 18 for motions to determine:
- that Muhyiddin does not command the confidence of the Dewan Rakyat;
- that Dr Mahathir has the confidence of the majority of MPs;
- that the one-day sitting of the Dewan Rakyat is contrary to the Federal Constitution and
- that the Dewan Rakyat meeting should be extended to eight days.
“On the basis of the explanations that have been presented, I have decided to reject part of the application on the basis that there is no necessity to expedite the matter and decided to accept part of the application on the basis that it is a specific matter of public interest and urgent and can be brought to the house,” Mohamad Ariff said.
An application for a motion from Semporna MP and Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, among others, seeking to determine that Dr Mahathir commands the confidence of the majority of the MPs was rejected as it did not comply with Article 43 of the Federal Constitution.
“As the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, I have to study and ensure that all the applications for motions are submitted in compliance with the provisions of the Standing Orders because, in my opinion, this is part of upholding of the rule of law.
“In this regard, any consideration and decision made by the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat should be fair and just and uphold the integrity of the Dewan Rakyat and Parliament.”
In the same statement, Mohamad Ariff announced the First Meeting of the Third Session of the 14th Parliament will take place for one day, on May 18.
Among the motions to be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat meeting on May 18 is the declaration of the opposition leader, the appointment of a Select Committee and the vice-chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said the Parliament was also given notice that Port Dickson MP, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would be declared as the leader of the opposition by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
“The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has also decided to maintain the policy of appointing an opposition member as the chairman of PAC while the vice-chairman would be appointed from among the backbenchers. A total of 12 PAC members would be appointed by a Select Committee.”
Apart from that, Takiyuddin said two important bills to be tabled at the meeting for the first reading are the 2019 and 2020 Supplementary Supply Bills with the subsequent reading at the Parliament session starting on July 13.
He said the first meeting of the third term of the 14th Parliament on May 18 would not witness an inspection of parade by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah on the advice of the Ministry of Health but His Majesty would be officiating the Dewan Rakyat sitting.
“A motion would also be tabled to postpone the debate on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal address. We usually allocated at least four days for the debate but we need to expedite this meeting and a motion would be tabled to bring it to July.”
To comply with the Movement Control Order (MCO), Takiyuddin said the Dewan will practise social distancing with one member seated alternatively and to ensure sufficient seats for all members, the seats for officers would be taken up for MPs.
On the media coverage of the meeting, he said government media such as Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA) and Parliment media would be allowed – while other media can appeal to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
The May 18 meeting will not involve all officers except several heads such as the Chief Secretary to the Government, Inspector-General of Police, Defence Forces Chief and the Chief Justice.
– Bernama