IPOH, May 13 — In light of the wave of negative publicity over the current political impasse in Perak, State Assembly Speaker Datuk R. Ganesan is finally giving his version of events that unfolded on May 7.
According to Ganesan, a lawyer by profession, he was appointed Speaker before ousted Speaker V. Sivakumar was asked to move from the Speaker's chair to the seat for Tronoh on the assembly floor.
"When a motion is tabled in which you are an interested party, then you must excuse yourself. That is natural justice," he said of the motion to remove Sivakumar as Speaker.
This, he said, was moved, seconded and then supported by 29 members, thereby passed by a majority of the assembly.
It was then followed by a motion to appoint a new Speaker, where Ganesan was the only nominee and won the votes of 31 assemblymen.
Ganesan said that he then took the oath before postponing the sitting twice to calm the situation down.
It was only after this that he asked Sivakumar to vacate the Speaker's chair and move to the seat for the Tronoh assemblyman.
"I gave him the order and several warnings. When he ignored them, I requested the sergeant-at-arms to execute my order," Ganesan said, refuting claims that Sivakumar was manhandled and thrown out of the assembly so that the Speaker's position could be declared vacant.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) assemblymen blocked the sergeant-at-arms so Ganesan requested the police to assist and said that the Standing Orders allowed him to invite individuals to assist in the running of assembly business.
The 57-year-old former Sungkai assemblyman said that Sivakumar had no right to stop the three independents who supported BN from entering the assembly as the court had already declared them to be legal assemblymen.
He also said that Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir and his six executive councillors could also enter the assembly as the Federal Court had declared that their suspensions were invalid even though the court shied away from declaring that they could enter the assembly as requested by their legal team.
"When the court declares their suspension as invalid, that means you return to status quo, that they are responsible assemblymen. Who has the right to stop them from entering the assembly?" he said.
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