Perikatan Nasional has accused Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of power abuse and breaking the law for refusing Parliament to debate the High Court’s decision on Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.
Perikatan Nasional chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (pic) said that the Prime Minister does not have any authority or right to determine or decide based on the standing order if there is a motion submitted to debate the matter.
He said the acceptance or rejection of such a motion is within the jurisdiction and discretion of the Speaker of the House.
“It is clear that the Prime Minister has made a statement that exceeds his authority and role as the Head of the Council by preempting the decision that should have been made by the Speaker of the House,” said Takiyuddin in a statement on Saturday (Sept 9).
Takiyuddin added that the need for the case, in which Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA), to be debated in the highest forum in the country was also increasingly necessary and urgent considering its great impact not only on the legal and judicial institutions, but also to the image and integrity of the government and the country in the eyes of the people and the international community.
“The negative response, dissatisfaction and at least surprise among many parties, in addition to the debate and widespread comments among the people also clearly show that the case and the decision of the Attorney General are indications that the case is of importance.
“Perikatan also sees the Prime Minister’s excuse that the Attorney General is not a minister or a Member of Parliament to support his statement for rejecting the debate on this issue in Parliament as unacceptable.
“So far, all legal issues, including those raised in Parliament by the Prime Minister himself and his party when he was in the Opposition, have been answered and even given clear explanations by the relevant ministers, including court cases involving 1MDB issues and the like,” said Takiyuddin.
He said Perikatan strongly believed that the decisions that led to the DNAA judgment need to be scrutinised and examined by the Parliament because it was closely related to the issue of integrity and trustworthiness of various parties.
On Friday, Anwar had said the High Court’s decision to grant Ahmad Zahid a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) cannot be debated in a special Parliament sitting.
He said Parliament cannot be transformed into a courtroom to discuss the decision made by Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah regarding Ahmad Zahid, who is also Deputy Prime Minister.
Anwar said the government has no objection to any Member of Parliament asking about the case during the normal Dewan Rakyat sessions as long as Parliament is not turned into a courtroom. TSOL
