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PETALING JAYA: Dewan Rakyat’s chairman Azhar Harun has dismissed claims that he has changed his stance on a vote of no confidence against the prime minister.
He said that today it is not up to the Speaker of the House to decide whether to give priority to a motion of confidence, and this is current parliamentary practice even in other Commonwealth countries.
His comments stemmed from an old video clip that was circulating on social media, in which he talked about private member bills and motions of confidence.
The 2015 video clip was part of a talk show, “Art of the Matter,” produced by The Malaysian Insight, in which Azhar explained why the speaker had delayed the bill for a private member.
Azhar had said that government bills would take precedence over non-government issues. He went to say, “Now, can the speaker do that with respect to a vote of no confidence? The answer is no’. Because, again, according to constitutional practice, a motion of no confidence must be at the top of the list. That is by convention or constitutional practice. It is not by law. “
Speaking to FMT today, Azhar said the video clip only reinforces his current position that government affairs in Dewan Rakyat will take precedence over other matters.
Referring to the video clip, he said: “Yes, I said that constitutional practice and convention would dictate that the motion of no confidence would be listed first. Yes, I said that. I do not deny it.
“But the question is how? People say the speaker lists it first; I’ve shown that the speaker doesn’t have the power to do it.”
He had also stated this in a recent correspondence with Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who had requested a “guarantee” that a motion of no confidence would be raised against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin at the next Dewan Rakyat session.
Azhar said Dewan Rakyat’s Rules of Procedure, the parliamentary practice in Australia, as well as UK constitutional conventions, which Malaysian civil society groups say are applicable here, do not give the speaker of the chamber the power to decide on filing a non-governmental motion. First.
“In the UK, a vote of no confidence will be included first if the government agrees to the request of the opposition leader to do so,” he said. Similarly, in Australia, it was up to the relevant minister to decide whether a vote of no confidence came first.
“In Malaysia, Standing Order 14 (2) states that a vote of no confidence can be prioritized if the minister (responsible for parliamentary affairs) makes a motion to be heard or debated above all else.
“So I have not denied what I said earlier. I said convention would dictate that the motion be listed first, but how is this done? The speaker does not agree to a request, but the government agrees to the request, “said Azhar.
