Bersih launches petition to retain Ariff as speaker
The electoral reform group Bersih launched a campaign to pressure the government to retain former judge Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof as the Dewan Rakyat speaker.
It said that unlike his predecessors, Ariff has a genuine appreciation for multi-partisanship since retiring from party politics in 2018, and should be retained to push for further parliamentary reforms.
The electoral reform group Bersih launched a campaign to pressure the government to retain former judge Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof as the Dewan Rakyat speaker.
It said that unlike his predecessors, Ariff (above) has a genuine appreciation for multi-partisanship since retiring from party politics in 2018, and should remain as speaker to push for further parliamentary reforms.
Bersih urged the public to sign an online petition calling for Ariff to stay in his position. As of writing, more than 1,600 people have signed it.
As for the MPs, Bersih called on the lawmakers to vote against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s motions to remove Ariff and his deputy Nga Kor Ming from office.
The group will be conducting a series of webinars on various parliamentary reforms, it said, starting with one at 8.30pm tonight that will feature Bersih chairperson Thomas Fann, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, and Kluang MP Wong Shu Qi.
The webinar will be streamed live on Bersih’s Facebook page.
Muhyiddin had submitted the motions on June 26, and they are expected to be tabled during the parliamentary sitting beginning July 13.
Deputy Speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon, who is also the Batu Pahat MP aligned with the Perikatan Nasional government, is not affected.
Ariff had said his office had accepted both motions for debate.
Bersih said such a motion to replace the Dewan Rakyat speaker mid-term is unprecedented, as the position is usually vacated in the event of the Dewan Rakyat’s dissolution, or the death or resignation of the speaker.
By the convention of Westminster parliamentary systems, the position is usually occupied by someone who is above partisan politics and those who are political party members must resign from their party positions.
However, Bersih said this had not been the case with Ariff’s predecessors and expressed concern that he could be replaced by someone of “partisan character”.
“In Malaysia, however, parliamentary speakers are traditionally treated as gatekeepers for the executive, blocking motions or bills tabled by the opposition or even restricting speeches, greatly undermining the impartiality of the office.
“Speaker Ariff, who is not an MP and has retired from party politics since his appointment at the start of the 14th Parliament in 2018, has transformed his office with impartiality and a genuine appreciation for multi-partisanship,” Bersih said in a statement today.
Among others, they pointed out that Ariff had set up various parliamentary select committees where both government backbenchers and opposition members can scrutinise every aspect of the government.
Ariff had also appointed an opposition MP to chair the Public Accounts Committee, which checks on the government’s finances and spending.
Under Ariff, Bersih said Parliament became a more people-centric institution by organising events to advance debates on democracy and human rights.
It said more reforms are needed, such as setting up an independent parliamentary service that is not controlled by the executive branch, and to recognise the opposition’s shadow cabinet by giving it resources and access to government information.
There should be a weekly "Prime Minister’s Question Time" for the premier to answer MPs' questions personally, and special slots for non-government business and private member’s bills can be debated, the group added.
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