Removal of speaker: Harapan objects to motions, says Ariff served justly

Pakatan Harapan has objected to the motions filed by Perikatan National (PN) to remove the Dewan Rakyat speaker and his deputy.

In a statement, the Harapan secretariat council said former judge Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof (above) has served as speaker fairly and played an important role in “restoring public confidence in the Malaysian democratic system”.

“From the formation of new Parliament special select committees, the All-Party Parliamentary Group to foster closer ties between parliamentarians and civil society, as well as various improvements to Parliament proceedings, the Yang di-Pertua (Ariff) has proven that efforts on institutional reforms which began after GE14 have borne fruit and must be continued,” it said.

The coalition pointed out that Ariff had retired from party politics when appointed to the role in 2018.

“As such, the Harapan secretariat pledges the full support of Harapan MPs to the Yang di-Pertua and deputy Yang di-Pertua Nga Kor Ming.

“We also object to any attempts to remove them both, what more because they have, and are sure to continue to serve, with fairness... there is no need to change the two,” read the statement.

The statement was signed by PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke and Amanah secretary-general Hatta Ramli.

Last month, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had submitted the motions to replace both Ariff and Nga. The motions are expected to be tabled during Parliament sitting beginning July 13.

Ariff had said his office had accepted both motions for debate.

Ariff had quit his party post as Amanah disciplinary chief and from being a member of its experts' advisory committee prior to being proposed as speaker, while Nga, who is Teluk Intan MP, is with DAP.

Deputy speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon, who is also the Batu Pahat MP aligned with the PN government, was not affected by the motions.