Speaker Should Be Impartial – Pandikar Amin
(Sinchew) – A speaker should be impartial and well aware of the consequences of his actions to the House and the people in general, said Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.
He said that if a person was appointed speaker, "you are the Speaker of that particular Parliament or state assembly, and do not belong to any political party or to benefit a particular party."
A speaker should not be a servant to a certain political party, he said after opening the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) first sub-committee meeting on global financial crisis and its impact here Monday (23 Feb).
Pandikar Amin was speaking to reporters when asked to comment on the current constitutional crisis in Perak.
Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar, who chaired the Rights and Privileges Committee, announced on 16 Feb that the commitee had suspended Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six executive council members from attending the state legislative assembly for a lengthy period since they were in contempt of the assembly.
Dr Zambry and his executive council were barred for 18 months and 12 months, respectively, effective 16 Feb and Sivakumar was reported to have also sought the consent of the Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah to convene a special sitting soon.
Former Perak menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin Sunday (22 Feb) said Pakatan Rakyat would table a motion of confidence in him as the legitimate menteri besar at the meeting.
Pandikar Amin said: "He (Sivakumar) should know better what he is doing, of how his decision is going to affect the people and the nation, not just a fraction of the society."
Citing himself as example, Pandikar Amin said when he was appointed Dewan Rakyat Speaker in April, last year, he resigned as Kota Marudu Umno divison head since he must be seen to be a fair person and thus, it was not proper for him to be active in politics.
He said the Perak crisis had not benefited anyone, especially at a time when the country is facing the effects of global financial crisis.
On the meeting, Pandikar Amin, who is also the sub-committee chairman, hoped to find possible solutions to the financial crisis.
The two-day meeting was attended by nine APA member countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Indonesia and Cambodia.
