Reform the government, reform the Speaker first

The Speaker’s kangaroo court action in suspending Anwar Ibrahim, Karpal Singh, Azmin Ali and Sivarasa had given Barisan Nasional an unmandated 2/3 majority in Parliament, concluded

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http://www.mmail.com.my/content/58157-bn-regains-twothirds-control-house


BN regains two-thirds control of the House

Dangerous to amend Constitution, say analysts
NADIRAH H. RODZI

Friday, December 17th, 2010 12:49:00

PETALING JAYA: The chaos on the final day of the 12th Parliament's third session yesterday, which saw the suspension of four Pakatan Rakyat (PR) top guns which resulted in the Barisan Nasional (BN) regaining its two-thirds majority of the House, has sparked mixed response from political analysts.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) political analyst Dr Jeniri Amir said the
two-thirds majority has serious implications.

"This is an advantage for BN. Although they are capable of bringing positive changes, the move by speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia is seen as not gentle. It will be dangerous if BN chooses to press on with amendments. Personally, I feel Azmin Ali's (PKR — Gombak) suspension is severe. He was just supporting the party's leader, as did other Opposition Members of Parliament (MP)," he said.

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The birthplace of Malaysia’s democracy, good old England, has this to state about the role of a Speaker:

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http://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/principal/speaker/

“The Speaker is the chief officer and highest authority of the House of Commons and must remain politically impartial at all times”
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What happen on that day on infamy, a practice perhaps inspired by the disgraceful Perak power grab, had the malaise extended to the federal level. The administration system that the Brits left behind has been ravaged beyond recognition.

Procedures are disregarded and the rakyat certainly did not give BN a 2/3 majority. The Speaker who was once a minister in the prime minister department gave BN that. I certainly did not pay part of his RM14K a month to turn a civilized administration system upside down.

click to see enlarge image


And this is not the first time the Speaker revealed where his loyalty apparently and truly lies.

http://wangsamajuformalaysia.blogspot.com/2009/12/is-speaker-being-objective-or-partisan.html


What is more revolting to the man in the street is his previous proclamations:

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http://www.malaysia-today.net/archives/18405-speaker-should-be-impartial-pandikar-amin


Speaker Should Be Impartial - Pandikar Amin
Monday, 23 February 2009


He said that if a person was appointed speaker, "you are the Speaker of that particular Parliament or state assembly, and do not belong to any political party or to benefit a particular party."

A speaker should not be a servant to a certain political party, he said after opening the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) first sub-committee meeting on global financial crisis and its impact here Monday (23 Feb).
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A servant and a lackey are two very different desription


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http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=56836


Pandikar vows to be fair to all as Speaker

Published on: Friday, April 11, 2008

Kota Kinabalu: Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, the former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, has pledged to be fair to all in discharging his duties if he is chosen as the new Dewan Rakyat Speaker.

Pandikar Amin, who was informed by Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman Datuk Seri Musa Aman on Tuesday that he would be nominated for the post, said there was no denying that the sitting for 12th parliamentary term would be more challenging than previously as the number of opposition members had increased to 82 as against BN's 140, with many new faces among them.

"First and foremost, it's necessary to be fair to both sides, meaning we should listen, and listen well, to the voice of both sides," he said here Thursday.

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Yeah right, Ron Jeremy is a virgin.

Pandikar Amin’s latest action has convinced the voter in me that even a single seat majority is too many for BN. Voices of the rakyat are gagged by this undefendable action from the Speaker.

The BN administration this term has demonstrated time and again, in the case of minority interest, they are not interested at all. What happened in Perak and Sarawak, have been extended to federal level.

From a man in the street perspective, I feel that the Speaker should not be chosen from the elected MPs. It is almost impossible, human nature as it is, not to favour your previous political alignment, whether deliberately or otherwise.

If Manchester United is playing Chelsea in Old Trafford, would anyone mind if the referee is chosen from one of the non-playing Manchester United players or coaching staff?
Let's have a look at this
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_(politics)

There is one prominent case of a speaker who is not presiding officer. The New York City Council, the unicameral legislative body for New York City, has as its presiding officer the Public Advocate, a position formerly known as City Council President, who is elected by all the voters of the city. As the public advocate's role has changed with several city charter revisions, a post of Council Speaker was created. The speaker is, effectively, majority leader of the council
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If we were to have a totally and truly independent Speaker, by golly, when I look at the quality of grey matter on both side of political divide, Pakatan MPs would clobber the BN MPs in most of the debates. The rakyat will get the money’s worth, the truly qualified MPs would get their ideas through and the nation will benefit as a whole.

This tax payer says, to reform the governance of this country, given the dreadful performance of the 3 Speakers this time round, perhaps we have to consider this drastic step.

2 comments:

  1. If after this shameful suspension of 4 PR MPs to gain 2/3 majority, BN pushes forward with nonsensical changes to any Bill or law, i hope the Rakyat is brave enough to revolt in mass to save the country. Enough is enough. We are being governed by a bunch of "gangsters, thieves, racists led by a murder suspect.

    ReplyDelete