I refer to Malaysiakini report Speaker has power to recall assembly .

Notwithstanding the eloquent opinion expressed therein, it is worth noting that in practice, the meetings of the state legislative assembly have always been summoned by a proclamation of His Royal Highness the Sultan exercising the powers conferred by Article 36(1) of the state constitution.

Take, for example, the first meeting of the first session of the state’s 10 th Legislative Assembly. It was summoned by a royal proclamation dated Dec 9, 1999. After the assembly was adjourned by the speaker, the second meeting of the same session was summoned by another royal proclamation dated Dec 13, 1999.

One may argue then that by convention, meetings of the state assembly are ordinarily summoned or convened by royal proclamation. It is a hollow argument perhaps, given the argument that HRH the Sultan did not act according to convention in refusing to dissolve the assembly when requested to.

So, wherein lies the power of the speaker to summon the assembly without recourse to royal proclamation? Reference has been made to Standing Order 90. I have not had the benefit of sighting the assembly’s Standing Orders of 1988.

But it appears that SO 90 allows the speaker to have regard to ‘the usages of Commonwealth Parliamentary practice so far as such usages can be applied to the proceedings of the assembly’ when the Standing Orders are silent on any matter.

I find it curious that reference should be made to the practice and procedure of the British Parliament, dubbed ‘the mother of all Parliaments’. Why not the Dewan Rakyat?

I find Standing Order 11(3) of the Dewan Rakyat more instructive on the issue of the power of the speaker to convene the assembly on his own accord. It reads as follow:

‘If, during an adjournment of the House, it is represented to Tuan Yang di-Pertua (ie the Speaker) by the prime minister that public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier date than that to which the House was adjourned, Tuan Yang di-Pertua shall give notice thereof forthwith and the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice.

‘The business set down for that day shall be appointed by the prime minister and notice thereof shall be circulated not later than the time of meeting.’

Clearly, the power to convene an adjourned Dewan Rakyat by the speaker is only exercisable on representation by the prime minister to the former that the Dewan should meet on a matter of public interest.

Remember the special session of the D ewan on the Gaza onslaught? It was pursuant to SO 11(3) that this special session was convened.

It is arguable then that the fourth sitting of the first session of the 12 th Legislative Assembly of Perak on March 3, 2009 should be convened only after representation had been made by the menteri besar to the speaker.

The speaker could have waited for the court to decide who that menteri besar is.