By Neville Spykerman - The Malaysian Insider
SHAH ALAM, Aug 11 — The Selangor government is moving towards a clear separation of powers between the state government and the legislature, to avoid what Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have claimed was executive interference during the Perak power tussle.
Currently, Speaker Teng Chang Khim has limited autonomy over the legislative assembly which is located within the state secretariat and his staff are employees of the state government.
However, this is set to change if the Selangor Legislative Assembly Service Commission Enactment (Selesa) 2009 is passed.
The enactment will put Selangor at par with other developed Commonwealth countries, where there is a clear distinction between the executive – which is the state government, the legislature and judiciary.
Under the Doctrine of Separations of Powers, each of these three organs of state are equal and functions as a check and balance to prevent abuse.
“We hope the new enactment will clearly distinguish the separate roles and functions of the state government and the legislature.” said Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim today while opening a seminar on Selesa here.
A panel of constitutional law experts also shared their views on the draft law with state lawmakers.
The panel included Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) prominent lawyer Tommy Thomas, and Prof Dr Aziz Bari from the International Islamic University Malaysia.
Under Selesa, a new Legislative Assembly Service Commission will be set up to manage the jurisdiction, finances and staff of the state assembly, independent of the state government.
The commission will be headed by the Speaker and will include the mentri besar, the Opposition Leader as well as between five and six state lawmakers.
Such a commission is modelled after similar institutions in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Khalid said the views of all parties will be taken into account before Selesa is passed in the legislative assembly.
“We want to be transparent and follow the due process by listening to all parties beforehand.”
In February, Perak was plunged into political crisis after two PKR and one DAP state lawmakers crossed over to Barisan Nasional (BN) which resulted in the collapse of the PR government.
Then Perak Speaker V.Sivakumar attempted a series of moves to prevent what was seen as a power grab but he was hamstrung by his own staff who were acting under orders from the state secretary.
During the assembly sitting on May 7, Sivakumar was removed for the house by police and replaced by BN's R. Ganesan.
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