Ariff: PN makes 'history' with speaker's removal

Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof believed that Perikatan Nasional (PN) has made history in terms of the manner a serving lower house speaker has been removed.

"This is unusual and I don't know if any other country has removed a speaker, apart from Trinidad and Tobago, in such a manner.

"In Trinidad's case, the speaker was removed in the 1990s because of graft," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

Earlier today, the Dewan Rakyat passed a motion by a narrow 111 to 109 margin to remove Ariff (above) as the speaker.

The only reason cited in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's motion on the speaker's removal was that "there exist another candidate".

A new speaker was appointed, apparently without a vote being called.

Ariff, a former Court of Appeal judge, said that there was no precedent in the 800-year history of the Westminster system.

Ariff said he would have had no problems stepping down had there been due process.

Earlier, Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad (below), in an acerbic tone, told the House that Ariff's removal was a form of the "new normal".

During the debate on Muhyiddin's motion, he said the Federal Constitution did not provide provisions for the removal of a speaker.

"We're talking about something that is not normal. This is the new normal introduced by the prime minister. It's not provided for in the Federal Constitution," he said.

However, it should be pointed out that Article 57(2)(c) of the Federal Constitution stipulated that the speaker has to vacate his seat should "the House at any time so resolves".

Mahathir said that the Dewan Rakyat must have an impartial speaker.

"If the speaker is chosen by the government, then that person is not a speaker. It will be a government man.

"It is probably best we assume the prime minister is the speaker," he added.

At one point, Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim interjected and said Mahathir too replaced the attorney-general and chief justice during his 22-month reign following the 2018 elections.

Mahathir cooly responded that the subject matter of the debate was not his performance, but the motion brought forth by the prime minister.