KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 – Perak Speaker Datuk R. Ganesan has issued a direct challenge to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) assemblymen, saying that if they chose to attend the Oct 28 sitting, they were endorsing him as Speaker.
Meanwhile, the PR parties are convening a meeting at the Perak PAS headquarters tonight, to decide whether to attend the sitting. They are expected to reach a decision by tonight.
It is widely speculated that ousted Speaker V. Sivakumar would issue his own notices on the assembly, citing the same date and time as the notices sent out by Ganesan on Monday.
This would give them the opportunity to attend the Oct 28 sitting without recognising the notice sent by Ganesan, whom they do not recognise as the state’s legal Speaker.
Ganesan however, has an entirely different take on the matter.
“If they attend, that means they are abiding by my notice and that they are endorsing me as Speaker.
“And if they endorse me as Speaker, they must follow my orders,” he told The Malaysian Insider today.
He refused to acknowledge the possibility that Sivakumar may distribute notices of his own to convene an assembly sitting at the same date and time.
Sivakumar has until tomorrow to issue his own circulars on the assembly if he wants to convene a sitting on Oct 28. This is because 14-days’ notice is required to be given to assemblymen prior to a state assembly sitting.
“Don’t refer to him as Speaker. To me, he is Tronoh assemblyman. He is not the Speaker,” said Ganesan.
He added that the notice that he had sent out to all the state’s 59 assemblymen had received the consent of the Sultan last Friday, and was legitimate.
The assemblymen were also asked to submit, by today, their questions to the state government for the question-and-answer session during the sitting.
The Malaysian Insider understands, however, that not one PR assemblyman has submitted questions.
Ganesan also issued a stern threat to all assemblymen, especially those from the PR – “follow my orders or face the music.”
He said that he would not hesitate to take any action, as enshrined in the Standing Orders, against those who misbehaved in the state assembly hall.
“If their behaviours warrant punishment, I will not hesitate to take action. I will use whatever powers I have within the Standing Orders,” he said.
Ganesan also chided PR assemblymen for the possibility of them going back on their word and attend the sitting in October.
“They already publicly said that they would not be attending. What kind of politicians are they? Leaders are not supposed to say one thing one day and then do something else the next,” he said.
Ganesan also told The Malaysian Insider to inform PR assemblymen to accept the reality that they no longer had the majority of the House.
“You tell them this. They only have 28 (assemblymen) and Barisan (Nasional) has 31. That is the reality and I know they understand this democratic principle well.
“This (former mentri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad) Nizar (Jamaluddin), (former senior state executive councillor Datuk) Ngeh (Koo Ham), (former executive councillor) Nga (Kor Ming), they all understand this.
“Why is it when the BN had 28 assemblymen, they never kicked up a fuss?” he said.
Ganesan also firmly stated that, “by hook or by crook”, he would not allow PR assemblymen to interfere with the tabling of the Budget.
“They cannot interfere. We will pass the Budget. They only have 28 assemblymen to BN’s 31,” he said.
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