LETTER | The Dewan Rakyat circus, now showing

LETTER | What a day it was for Malaysia, as we witnessed the second Dewan Rakyat sitting since Perikatan Nasional (PN) took over Putrajaya in March. The supreme legislative body was in full swing today with a perfect attendance record in Parliament save for Kota Marudu MP and incumbent Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Minister, Maximus Johnity Ongkili’s absence due to exhaustion.

Right off the bat during the customary Question Time, we witnessed the unbecoming behaviour of one former federal territories minister who interjected every time even when he was refused the privilege to do so.

Nevermind the inglorious irony of one former education minister who got into an argument with the Special Functions Minister on why MySejahtera was outsourced to a US-based company rather than a Malay-Muslim company when just two years ago, he was proudly claiming his Chinese ancestry.

When the motion to remove the incumbent Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof was read, the uproar from both sides of the bench could clearly be heard. By then, the speaker had recused himself and the deputy speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon took the podium.

At one point, it seemed like everyone wanted a piece of the action today, with the government featuring Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, Arau MP Shahidan Kassim, Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz, and Tanjong Karang MP Noh Omar all jumping in to rebut former prime minister and Langkawi MP, Dr Mahathir on his point about the unprecedented motion to remove a speaker by the whims and fancies of the Executive.

Not forgetting how Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman was chastised as “cucu” or grandson by the very same MPs earlier, as though his youth disqualifies him from the discussion.

The debacle continued but not for long as the deputy speaker immediately called for a vote. The score was settled when it was announced that there were 111 for and 109 against the motion to remove the speaker. The position of the speaker was vacated after much fanfare, thus allowing PN to protect its precarious position once more.

Just when you thought this was the end to the disgraceful showing from both sides of the house, the best was yet to come. The time came to nominate and appoint Azhar Azizan Harun as the speaker of Dewan Rakyat.

In a surprise move to everyone but the government, Azhar (above) took the podium, having donned the speaker’s robe and began to take his oath.

He proceeded to facilitate the sitting without any voting process taking place which was met with great opposition from Pakatan Harapan, especially from Batu Kawan MP Kasthuriraani Patto leading the protest from the public gallery.

Following that, Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham requested for the opposition to be allowed to nominate their candidate for speaker as a 14-day notice period should have begun after the position was vacated.

But the request was rejected by the unusually-appointed speaker, as Azhar ruled that a matter that was decided in Parliament cannot be revisited based on the Parliament standing order.

The new speaker also took no time to exercise his authority by booting Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad from the House for causing disruption.

On the other hand, Teluk Intan MP Nga Kor Ming resigned as deputy speaker, citing solidarity with the former speaker as his reason for doing so. Amid all the chaos, Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said (below) was then appointed as the new deputy speaker, alongside Rashid Hasnon, and again, without a vote, drawing even more protests from the opposition.

The announcement of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), which wields awesome powers to nominate MPs into select committees that provide the check and balance in our government, was also passed with no debate or voting at all.

How this happened remains a mystery to me, because the discussion was derailed by a slew of racist and sexist remarks by the Baling MP and Pasir Salak MP towards the Batu Kawan MP, when she was raising an important point about female representation in the PSC.

It’s hard to imagine that the Baling MP and Pasir Salak MP purposely threw those remarks in jest during a significant motion that would tilt the balance of powers in favour of PN. One could even argue that it was a bait to derail the entire debate and the opposition bench lapped it up with reckless abandon.

The newly-minted speaker was having none of it and decided to adjourn the sitting upon request by the de facto law minister and Kota Bharu MP Takiyuddin Hassan.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the silver lining in today’s travesty of democracy was that we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of what a proper Dewan Rakyat looks like, when the Kota Bharu MP and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, both legally trained and qualified, brought on a fantastic exchange on points of law during the debate on the motion to vacate the speaker’s post.

But one must wonder, could we really expect a debate that has civility, sophistication, and eloquence in it, or will we continue to see the August House descend into a circus?

As it stands, the PN government isn’t budging from any pressure from the opposition and has now shown that they are willing to bend the rules and will gladly do so to keep its grip on power. Only time will tell in the following days as the Dewan Rakyat continues its sittings.