Titi Serong assemblymen Drs Khalil Idham Lim has slammed State Assembly speaker R Ganesan for rejecting 216 questions submitted by the opposition representatives for debate at the Perak State Assembly sitting beginning tomorrow.
Khalil said all 27 Pakatan Rakyat (PR) assemblymen except V Sivakumar (who was unceremoniously forced out of the House proceedings by police last May), had submitted written and oral questions to the Speaker as stated in Ganesan’s letter dated March 1.
“The circular clearly said that we could submit our questions in writing or by e-mail.
“We were to submit our oral and written questions and any other motion for debate to the administration not later than March 15 by fax to 05-21410451 or by e-mail to rumaizi@perak.gov.my , rosnah@perak.gov.my , salamiah@perak.gov.my .
“It’s clear in the letter given to the assemblymen that we had the freedom to forward our questions in the form of a fax or e-mail to the state government. It is stupid of Ganesan to reject our submissions; it’s as if he did not understand the content of the letter,” Khalil said in his blog.
Apart from questioning Ganeson’s appointment on May 7, 2009, Khalil also took the State Secretary to task for manipulating the flow of the assembly sitting to the point of hindering the Speaker’s role and responsibility as stated in the regulations.
Other questions Khalil had posed to the assembly were on logging revenue, religious schools, Perak Religious Council, land titles, Malay reserve land and investments in the state.
The issue of who actually is the legitimate speaker – Ganesan or Sivakumar – has remained a bone of contention, following last March’s coup when the people-elected PR government was ousted by Barisan Nasional in a reverse takeover after three PR representatives quit the coalition.While the Federal Court had ruled in favour of Umno-BN's Zambry Abdul Kadir as the legitimate menteri besar in Perak over PR’s Nizar Jamaluddin (former menteri besar), the issue of the Speaker has to date had no legal ruling.
Perak DAP chairman Ngeh Koo Ham had reportedly said that the PR coalition members did not sanction Ganesan’s appointment as Speaker because Umno-BN assemblymen had not adhered to proper assembly procedures involving the seat.
Meanwhile, Sivakumar has gone about carrying out his duties as Speaker much to the chagrin of Ganesan who promptly lodged a police report against him.
by FMT
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