Ku Li: Speaker should guarantee motion of no confidence is prioritised

PETALING JAYA: Gua Musang MP Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah in a letter to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker dated Sept 25 requested a guarantee that priority would be given to the tabling of a motion of no confidence in the upcoming parliament sitting.

He gave the Speaker Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun seven days to explain why priority was not given to table a proposed motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Razaleigh said such a motion should be given priority because the Prime Minister could only stake legitimate claim to the post if he commanded majority support in the Parliament in accordance with Article 43 of the Federal Constitition.

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's notice of proposed motion of no confidence filed in May has yet to be tabled and voted upon.

"With all due respect, I am requesting for a guarantee that priority be given to table the motion of no confidence in the upcoming parliament sitting," he said in a letter dated Sept 25 addressed to the Speaker.

Razaleigh said he hoped to get a satisfactory answer within seven days, as he planned to make a public announcement for the sake of upholding the Federal Constitution in keeping to his oath as a parliamentarian.

The Speaker was obligated to uphold the Constitution, he said.

Razaleigh said the Speaker's refusal to give the motion a priority could be construed as neglecting Article 43 and Article 62 of the Federal Constitution.

"From the angle of the Constitution, there are no provisions in the Standing Orders that could block the motion to be tabled as a matter of pressing priority," he said.

Giving priority to government matters must be guided by the precondition that the the Prime Minister had the support of the majority, he said.

Razaleigh also revealed that the Prime Minister had offered him the Petronas chairman post.

"I declined the offer in keeping with Article 48(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution pertaining to disqualification of an MP holding a post that came with an income.

The clause was included to prevent political bribery in return for support or vote, he said.

"Political bribery posed a serious challenge to constitutional democracy," he said expressing fear of possible political bribery at play behind the scene.

Such practice, that may be hard to prove, could lead to the destruction of the parliamentary democracy from within, he said.

Razaleigh gave the speaker seven days to respond, failing which he would publicly disclose the matter, in keeping with his oath to uphold the Constitution.

In response, Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun said in a letter dated Sept 29 that his predecessor had included the motion of no confidence by the Langkawi MP (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad), as well as motion of confidence by Pasir Puteh MP, Sabak Bernam MP, and Arau MP in the meeting order, but government matters took precedence in the previous meetings.

Therefore, claims that the Prime Minister did not allow the motion of no confidence to be debated were not true, said Azhar.

He advised Razaleigh to discuss the matter with the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan, who was in charge of Parliament and Law, if he wanted priority to be given to the private motion.

Razaleigh was granted an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Tuesday (Oct 13), and the following day he made public the letter sent to the Speaker less than three weeks ago.