The Malaysian Insight

DEWAN Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun maintained he has been consistent on his views on the no-confidence motion even before being appointed as speaker amid criticisms of him being partial to the Perikatan Nasional government.

Azhar explained only Putrajaya has the power to allow any private member’s bill to be debated, which included a motion of no confidence against the prime minister.

He said he has held the same view consistently since 2015, which he expressed in a video produced for the now defunct The Malaysian Insider.

“Watch the video again, it reinforces what I said. Order of business is set by the government. Government business comes first everywhere. That reinforces what I said.”

“In Malaysia according to Standing Order 14(2), a minister must stand up to argue the motion. What inconsistencies are they talking about – I have not been inconsistent,” Azhar told The Malaysian Insight when contacted.

Azhar had also recently written a lengthy reply to Umno MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s query on the status of a no-confidence motion filed against the prime minister earlier this year.

In the reply, the speaker said his decisions on motions brought before him were made in accordance to parliamentary standing orders.

The former election commission chairman added that the Speaker was powerless in deciding what goes on the order paper and a motion of no confidence will surface if the government allows. 

“The Speaker has no power. How is it listed first by convention? When the government accedes to a request from the opposition to give way to the motion. This is the convention in the UK,” Azhar said. 

It is the normal practice in Malaysia for the government of the day to schedule Parliament sittings in such a way that private members’ motions rarely make it to the floor. The only time an opposition motion was presented was when Abdul Hadi Awang (Marang-PAS) tabled the amendments to the shariah courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (RUU 355) bill in 2017.

In a letter dated September 25, Tengku Razaleigh had said that Parliament should allow the motion so that Muhyiddin’s support as prime minister is legitimised by MPs in accordance with the Federal Constitution.

The veteran politician also said that Parliament had placed previous no-confidence motions at the end of the order paper, thus stopping it from debating the issue before sittings ended. – October 19, 2020.