Opposition MPs stage walkout as Mohamad Ariff sworn in as Speaker
Monday, 16 Jul 201810:32 AM MYT
by hemananthani sivanandam
KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional and PAS MPs walked out of the Dewan Rakyat after Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof (pic) was sworn in as the Speaker for the 14th Parliament.
Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin and Kimanis MP Datuk Seri Anifah Aman did not participate in the walkout.
This came after Opposition MPs jeered when Mohamad Ariff was sworn in on Monday (July 16).
Barisan and PAS lawmakers claimed that the appointment process was not transparent and a point of order was raised by Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Baru) when Dewan Rakyat secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah read out the motion proposing Mohamad Ariff as the sole candidate for the post of Speaker.
The motion was then tabled by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and was seconded by his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Mohamad Ariff was then invited into the august House to take his oath as the Speaker
Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/07/16/mohamad-ariff-sworn-in-as-speaker-opposition-mps-walk-out-in-protest/#qoFlrH7LiuSRLTVC.99
Opposition wants Dewan Rakyat suspended over speaker
Opposition MPs say the PH government did not appoint a speaker within the stipulated timeframe.
VIDEO INSIDE
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (seated, right) with PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan at a press conference today.
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition MPs, including from PAS, have called for the Dewan Rakyat to be suspended for 14 days, claiming the Pakatan Harapan government failed to appoint a speaker within the stipulated timeframe.
PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said under Standing Order 4 (1), it is mandatory for a speaker to be appointed 14 days before Dewan Rakyat proceedings begin.
By right, he added, a speaker should have been chosen by July 2.
This followed a walkout of opposition MPs from the Dewan Rakyat this morning over the appointment of former Court of Appeal judge Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof as the new speaker.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the 14-day standing order had not been followed.
“We are against the way the speaker was appointed. The Dewan Rakyat rules were not followed,” he said at a press conference here.
Umno’s Azalina Othman Said meanwhile said they needed to look at the letter of appointment to see if it was backdated.
MCA’s Wee Ka Siong said if the criteria were not followed, it meant that the government was not following orders.
“We are not against the speaker because the position of the speaker is important, but rules need to be followed,” he said.
Umno’s Annuar Musa added that former speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia told him he had checked with Parliament staff after July 2 and was told that no name had been submitted.
“We cannot bend the rules. If they have a problem, suspend and renominate the speaker, and then we continue the sitting again.”
DAP’s Anthony Loke, however, refuted the claim that the speaker’s name was not submitted in time.
“The Dewan Rakyat secretary received the name on July 2,” he told reporters at the Dewan Rakyat lobby.
