Ngeh steps down as Perak speaker, after making a point
PERAK DUN | Beruas MP Ngeh Khoo Ham has stepped down as the speaker of the Perak legislative assembly.
Ngeh stepped down after delivering a lengthy speech in which he stressed the rule of law and good governance...
PERAK DUN | Beruas MP Ngeh Khoo Ham has stepped down as the speaker of the Perak legislative assembly.
Ngeh stepped down after delivering a lengthy speech in which he stressed the rule of law and good governance.
He said the rules clearly state that selection of a new speaker can only take place if there was a vacancy and that a seven-day notice was required.
"It shouldn't be through threats," said Ngeh, referring to earlier attempts in the House by Menteri Besar Faizal Azumu to initiate a vote to demand the speaker's resignation.
Faizal had tried to initiate a motion to remove Ngeh as speaker based on Standing Order 3, which stated that motions brought by the menteri besar must be given priority.
He then urged the 34 other assemblypersons who supported him to stand up and back his motion, to which they complied.
Following this, several state assembly staff attempted to approach Ngeh to convince him to leave, but he refused on grounds that he wanted to do so properly.
This led to a back-and-forth between backbenchers and the opposition, with the latter demanding that Ngeh be allowed to make his speech.
Ngeh ended his speech by declaring an adjournment, to which Faizal responded that the sitting could not be adjourned without first passing a motion.
After Ngeh left, opposition members began streaming out of the chambers but Faizal moved a motion to appoint Sungai Manik assemblyperson Zainol Fadzi Paharudin as the temporary speaker.
The assembly then proceeded with electing Umno's former Kamunting state assemblyperson Mohammad Zahir Abdul Khalid as the new speaker, replacing Ngeh.
Speaking to reporters later, Faizal (photo) said all the 32 PN state assemblypersons and three independent lawmakers first voted to vacate the speaker's seat and then elected Zahir as the new speaker.
However, Ngeh described the state legislative proceeding conducted after he adjourned the sitting as unlawful.
This is because no sitting can be held without a speaker, he added.
Explaining what had transpired in the House just now, he said the menteri besar put forward a motion to vacate him citing Clause 13(2) of the Standing Order.
Ngeh said he wanted to resign as this is an honourable thing to do since Pakatan Harapan no longer commands the majority in the House.
He stressed that the state constitution, which is the highest law in Perak, allows him to resign anytime he wanted, while the Standing Order cited by Faizal to remove him as speaker was merely a subsidiary ruling.
"While the state constitution allows me to resign, the state government chose to embarrass me by pushing for a no-confidence motion to remove me.
"This is barbaric," Ngeh said.
By right, he said PN should wait for seven days from the day the speaker's post is vacated, to re-elect a new speaker so that all the lawmakers can nominate their candidate in accordance with the Standing Order.
"The state constitution also said once you don't have a speaker, no more proceeding is allowed. So, here is a lawless government which does not respect the law.
"I wish to express my regret on how the PN state government had acted," said Ngeh, who is also Beruas MP.
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