IPOH, Dec 8 — Perak DAP deputy president Abdul Aziz Bari today said Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun’s decision to not bring forward the tabling of a motion of no-confidence against Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin clearly shows that he is trying to protect the prime minister.
The Tebing Tinggi MP said the Parliament is the right place to test the legitimacy of a leader and such a motion should be allowed to be tabled when the situation arises.
“Azhar is kind of telling us to do the fight outside the Parliament when the sitting is ongoing.
“When ideally in a Westminster system the arguments and contestation ought to be done in a civil manner in the House. That’s why I called it a disgrace.
“Doing it outside the House, even if Muhyiddin fails, will complicate matters,” he told Malay Mail.
Abdul Aziz said Muhyiddin might be able to fend off other attempts to overthrow him.
“But if it’s in the House, like in Perak last Friday, it’s effective and the effect takes place immediately.
“And it is open, nobody can dispute it. It’s obviously cheaper and faster, and above all democratic,” he explained.
Earlier today Azhar outlined the reasons why he has not brought forward the tabling of a motion of no-confidence against Muhyiddin.
Azhar began by saying he was unsure how the motion of confidence against the Perak mentri besar was handled during the Perak State Assembly.
He added that firstly, he did not know which Standing Order and what powers were exercised by the Perak state assembly Speaker to enable the motion to be brought forward to be tabled and debated.
“Secondly, I am not bound by other Speakers’ actions, what more state assembly Speakers whom I’m not familiar with, on how they handled the situation.
“And I’m also unsure of the Standing Orders used in respective state assemblies,” Azhar was reported telling the Dewan Rakyat when asked by Opposition bloc MPs to clarify his apparent inaction on the matter.
He then insisted that his actions were “not at his own whims and fancies” and that he has carried out in-depth research on the matter.
He was responding to DAP’s Jelutong MP RSN Rayer who asked him to clarify if he could bring forward the motion in question, similar to what transpired in the Perak state assembly last week.