In letter to Ku Li, speaker says powerless to speed up no-confidence motion

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun today reiterated that he is powerless to speed up any motion of no confidence in Parliament to be tabled ahead of other matters according to the order papers.

In a letter to Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, he said he was merely carrying out his duty in line with the authority given to him under the present legal framework.

“To prioritise a motion of no confidence, according to UK parliamentary convention, passage must be given by the government.

“This is in line with the assumption that the government’s administrative time is an asset,” he said in the letter.

In the Malaysian Parliament, he said, council rules state that only the council can decide to deviate from the order set.

He also denied Razaleigh’s claim that he had contradicted his oath as the Dewan Rakyat speaker.

“I accept all your criticism with an open heart,” he said.

“But with all due respect, I must deny that I have violated the oath of my office and failed to fulfil my duty according to the Federal Constitution, or according to my duties as Dewan Rakyat speaker, or the democratic system of our country.”

In October last year, Razaleigh had called for a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.

In a letter dated Sept 25, Razaleigh claimed Muhyiddin’s government had rejected the same motion twice.

“This motion of no confidence is very important for several constitutional reasons including the legitimacy of the present government under the leadership of the prime minister,” he said.

“If the motion is supported by the majority of MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, the constitutional result should be presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”

Razaleigh wrote to the speaker again on June 25, claiming among others that Azhar had ignored and broken his oath of office, and bringing up the issue of party-hopping in the country.