NOWHERE in the world is a legislative speaker removed without a clear and valid reason, said former Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof.

Ariff was removed by the Perikatan Nasional government during today’s first parliamentary sitting through a motion brought forward by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

“In a normal situation after an election, a new government will appoint a speaker. What has happened now is unusual. I do not know of any other country (that has done this) except Trinidad and Tobago.

“They removed their speaker because of corruption. There is no other example. In the United Kingdom, for 800 years not one speaker was ousted before his term ended. This should be the practice in a commonwealth system,” he said.

In a division vote today, 111 MPs said aye and 109 in the opposition said nay to the removal of Arif and his deputy Nga Kor Ming.

Ariff said he had allowed the motion to be put on the order paper but that did not mean he agreed with it.

He said he accepted the motion because it fulfilled the requirements for a notice to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.

“As a speaker I accepted the motion, whether it has a problem or not it is up to the MPs. That is what we hold on to in our system.”

“If I do not accept it, maybe the story is different but we follow the rule and the book. There is no magic.”

He also accepted the results of the vote as it was a constitutional process.

“For me personally there is no problem at all. I will leave if the constitution has been complied with and (in this case) the constitution is complied with, motions and votes have been taken so that the MPs, not the prime minister and not the cabinet, have the final word.”

“This must be respected in principle. A speaker must be neutral, independent and not be controlled by the executive.”

“The speaker’s position is not that of special officer to the cabinet or the minister or the prime minister. We must maintain a neutral position. In this case the speaker has been appointed by the Dewan Rakyat and the position should be vacated through a vote in the Dewan Rakyat.” – July 13, 2020.