Kota Kinabalu: Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, the former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, has pledged to be fair to all in discharging his duties if he is chosen as the new Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
Pandikar Amin, who was informed by Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman Datuk Seri Musa Aman on Tuesday that he would be nominated for the post, said there was no denying that the sitting for 12th parliamentary term would be more challenging than previously as the number of opposition members had increased to 82 as against BN's 140, with many new faces among them.
"First and foremost, it's necessary to be fair to both sides, meaning we should listen, and listen well, to the voice of both sides," he said here Thursday.
Pandikar Amin, who obtained his law degree from Lincoln's Inn, London, was the Sabah State Legislative Assembly Speaker for nearly two years between 1986 and 1987.
His experience in Parliament was as a Senator in 1988, and again between 1999 and 2002 when he was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.
"To me, it will be a challenging task but it should not be a problem," said Pandikar Amin, who is from Kota Belud, the Bajau heartland of Sabah.
Pandikar Amin, 52, admitted that the parliamentary sessions this time around would be more lively.
"We can't avoid heated discussions in parliamentary sittings but this doesn't mean that members of the House would all be quarrelling," said Pandikar Amin, who is former State Agriculture and Fisheries Minister.
The Parliament sitting this time around would also be aired live over RTM for 30 minutes from 10am, covering the question-and-answer session.
Pandikar Amin was confident that the Dewan Rakyat proceeding would go on as normal even with the live telecast because similar telecast was also being practised in other countries like India, England and Australia.
"If there are members of the House who go overboard, it's the duty of the Speaker to tell the members to behave," he said.
The nomination for the Speaker's post should be forwarded 14 days prior to the swearing-in of Members of Parliament, scheduled for April 28.
Meanwhile, former Secretary to the Parliament Datuk Abdullah Abdul Wahab said apart from the criteria stipulated under the Standing Order, a Dewan Rakyat Speaker must also be a respected person and accepted by both the Government and the opposition.
He said this would enable a Speaker to discharge his duties effectively and ensure the smooth-running of the proceeding.
"He must be respected by both sides as he will be the one who decides, in which the House must agree upon.
"When a Speaker is respected by members of the House, his decision will also be respected," said Abdullah, who held various posts in the more than two decades of service in Parliament before retiring in May 2006.
Abdullah said a Dewan Rakyat Speaker would also be representing the country in international fora, thus it was important for a speaker to be someone who is respected internationally, he said.
"The candidate for the post should be a person of high integrity, fair and able to interpret the law," he said.
Apart from Pandikar Amin, five-term MP Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (Santubong, Sarawak) and three-term MP Datuk Ronald Kiandee (Beluran, Sabah) were also said to be among those being eyed for the post.
Wan Junaidi and Ronald had confirmed that they were told about it unofficially and expressed their willingness to fill the post.- Bernama
***
We'll see how it goes Mr. Pandikar. It's too early to say at the moment because we haven't seen you perform. Let's hope you're not one of those people that make Sabahans look like uneducated and uncivilised fools e.g. Mr. Bocor.
Friday, April 11, 2008
RESTORING BALANCE TO THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
Dato’ Chua Jui Meng’s Press Statement 11th April 2008
Much is being said about judicial reform in the press these days, with the latest being a speech by the Regent of Perak Raja Nazrin, calling for a judicial renaissance. I strongly support his call, and hope that our leaders will heed his words.
In his speech as reported by the Sun on 10th April 2008, Raja Nazrin spoke of the need for the three branches of government – legislative, executive and judiciary, to be highly responsive and accountable to the people. This is a topic I would like to delve into deeper and broaden a little further.
Malaysia was founded on the governing constitutional principle of the three branches of government, each invested with specific functions to provide the necessary check and balances necessary for good governance. However, over time the executive branch has through constitutional amendments assumed more powers than is healthy for our democracy.
I believe that realignment must be made in all three branches to restore the balance as enshrined by our Constitution.
For the judiciary the Federal Constitution must be amended to re-vest in them the judicial authority of the Federation. Furthermore for the sanctity of the judiciary, it is vital that every person and institution be treated equally before the law. Specifically, no political party should be immune from the process of the law and the courts. The exclusion of jurisdiction of the courts over political parties provided in the Societies Act Section 18C can protect abuses committed by top leaders of these parties.
For example when the Bukit Mertajam division of MCA brought a case against the MCA leadership for abuse of power by injection of large numbers of phantom members into the division to the High Court, it was dismissed on the grounds that the court had no jurisdiction over political parties. Section 18C of the Societies Act takes away the checks and balances that protected the rights of members through the judiciary.
We need to amend the Societies Act to restore jurisdiction to the courts over legal matters pertaining to political parties. Members must be shielded from sacking because they bring complaints of injustice pertaining to their party to the courts for adjudication.
Furthermore, our unique two-court system – the Syariah and Civil Courts, need to have their separate jurisdictions clarified to prevent a repeat of the Lina Joy incident, which caused much discomfort amongst the non-Muslim population.
Next, Parliament itself must be revitalised. But more than that, I believe that the primacy of Parliament must be restored with the executive branch accountable to it. No government institution or government linked company should be exempt from the purview of Parliament. Amendments should be made to all Acts that exclude these organisations from parliamentary review.
I also fully support the provision of a live telecast of all Parliamentary sittings. This proposed with the hope that an awakened Parliament will produce parliamentarians who will actively engage in the debates regarding the policies and direction of our nation. The presence of large numbers of Pakatan Rakyat members this term will certainly lead to more vibrant debates in both Houses of Parliament. However, I pray that we will be able to emulate the British Parliament upon whose principles we were founded, that encourages even parliamentarians from the party of government to question and bring the government to account.
And finally, I hope the executive branch - the Cabinet, will listen to the voices for change and allow itself to lead the reform to redistribute the powers back to the other two branches thereby securing the freedom and rights of all Malaysians for time to come.
I commend Datuk Zaid Ibrahim for his prompt response to Raja Nazrin’s call. I hope that we can be assured that the Cabinet will move expeditiously in implementing what was promised.
Dato’ Chua Jui Meng
Much is being said about judicial reform in the press these days, with the latest being a speech by the Regent of Perak Raja Nazrin, calling for a judicial renaissance. I strongly support his call, and hope that our leaders will heed his words.
In his speech as reported by the Sun on 10th April 2008, Raja Nazrin spoke of the need for the three branches of government – legislative, executive and judiciary, to be highly responsive and accountable to the people. This is a topic I would like to delve into deeper and broaden a little further.
Malaysia was founded on the governing constitutional principle of the three branches of government, each invested with specific functions to provide the necessary check and balances necessary for good governance. However, over time the executive branch has through constitutional amendments assumed more powers than is healthy for our democracy.
I believe that realignment must be made in all three branches to restore the balance as enshrined by our Constitution.
For the judiciary the Federal Constitution must be amended to re-vest in them the judicial authority of the Federation. Furthermore for the sanctity of the judiciary, it is vital that every person and institution be treated equally before the law. Specifically, no political party should be immune from the process of the law and the courts. The exclusion of jurisdiction of the courts over political parties provided in the Societies Act Section 18C can protect abuses committed by top leaders of these parties.
For example when the Bukit Mertajam division of MCA brought a case against the MCA leadership for abuse of power by injection of large numbers of phantom members into the division to the High Court, it was dismissed on the grounds that the court had no jurisdiction over political parties. Section 18C of the Societies Act takes away the checks and balances that protected the rights of members through the judiciary.
We need to amend the Societies Act to restore jurisdiction to the courts over legal matters pertaining to political parties. Members must be shielded from sacking because they bring complaints of injustice pertaining to their party to the courts for adjudication.
Furthermore, our unique two-court system – the Syariah and Civil Courts, need to have their separate jurisdictions clarified to prevent a repeat of the Lina Joy incident, which caused much discomfort amongst the non-Muslim population.
Next, Parliament itself must be revitalised. But more than that, I believe that the primacy of Parliament must be restored with the executive branch accountable to it. No government institution or government linked company should be exempt from the purview of Parliament. Amendments should be made to all Acts that exclude these organisations from parliamentary review.
I also fully support the provision of a live telecast of all Parliamentary sittings. This proposed with the hope that an awakened Parliament will produce parliamentarians who will actively engage in the debates regarding the policies and direction of our nation. The presence of large numbers of Pakatan Rakyat members this term will certainly lead to more vibrant debates in both Houses of Parliament. However, I pray that we will be able to emulate the British Parliament upon whose principles we were founded, that encourages even parliamentarians from the party of government to question and bring the government to account.
And finally, I hope the executive branch - the Cabinet, will listen to the voices for change and allow itself to lead the reform to redistribute the powers back to the other two branches thereby securing the freedom and rights of all Malaysians for time to come.
I commend Datuk Zaid Ibrahim for his prompt response to Raja Nazrin’s call. I hope that we can be assured that the Cabinet will move expeditiously in implementing what was promised.
Dato’ Chua Jui Meng
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
