No motion filed to debate floods, says speaker amid criticism
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NO motion was filed to debate the devastating Klang Valley floods over the weekend and, therefore, the Dewan Rakyat could not discuss the matter, Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun said today.
Azhar’s statement comes after he was accused of denying MPs the chance to debate the floods and their catastrophic impact in the Klang Valley on Monday.
“Firstly, I would like to deny that I rejected a motion to debate the floods. There was not a single motion that was filed by any members of Parliament to debate the matter,” he said in a statement.
“These accusations against me are political in nature and I do not want to be involved in the political arena, which has no end.”
On Monday, Azhar said the Dewan Rakyat could not discuss the Klang Valley floods because there was only one item on the agenda, which was the debate on the amendments to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act.
He said for matters to be debated, a motion must be filed and a written notice must be given to him beforehand.
“For matters that require urgency, a motion must be brought under Standing Order 18(1) a day earlier,” he said.
“For matters regarding the floods, the MPs could have given me a notice via WhatsApp the day before (December 20) while a written notice could be given on the morning of December 20. However, no one did so.”
Azhar said he was not trying to limit the rights of MPs to debate important matters but the Dewan Rakyat cannot be turned into a coffee shop and matters must be debated with proper procedure.
“There is no Parliament in the Commonwealth that will allow issues picked out of the air to be debated without following the standing orders,” he said.
On Monday, Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, Ahmad Maslan (Pontian-Barisan Nasional) and Mohamad Sabu (Kota Raja-Pakatan Harapan) called for MPs to debate the floods but was denied by Azhar.
Yesterday, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan said Azhar’s actions were “a very insensitive, unparliamentary act and a serious neglect of responsibility”.
The speaker’s decision has also spawned a debate on social media about his role and Parliament and why lawmakers were denied the chance to debate the floods. – December 22, 2021.