IS the special sitting of Parliament on July 26 to be a sitting of the Special Chamber?

“A trained lawyer, Azhar is no fool,” said Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh of Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun.

Ramkarpal is the latest opposition figure to fire a salvo at Azhar, urging the speaker not to hide behind Standing Order 11(3) of the Dewan Rakyat.

Azhar had said that Standing Order 11(3) explicitly states that the prime minister has to decide the business for the Special Meeting on July 26. Azhar had chided opposition MPs for not understanding the Standing Orders despite their years in Parliament and in some cases, in government. 

“I would like to implore the Pakatan Harapan presidential council to stop this politics of hate through subtle and surreptitious misinformation as well as false narrative,” said Azhar.

With due respect, Azhar too may have overlooked that the Special Meeting commencing on July 26 could be, or be turned into, a sitting of the Special Chamber, or Kamar Mesyuarat Khas. The term “Special Chamber” was inserted by way of amendments to the Standing Orders on April 7, 2016. This was after the last held two-day Special Meeting in January of that year to debate a motion on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

The amendments, among others, replace Standing Order 16 with Standing Order 16(1), which now establishes a Special Chamber to consider (a) speech on any matter of administration for which the government is responsible under Standing Order 17; and (b) a defined matter of urgent public importance under Standing Order 18.

So far, the agenda for the sitting that has been distributed to MPs stated that there will be five days of ministerial statements only. These are indeed speeches on matters of administration for which the government is responsible, if not a defined matter of urgent public importance.

In a sitting of the Special Chamber, the business is transacted in the order as determined by the speaker as stated under Standing Order 14A, which was inserted as another amendment to the Standing Orders in 2016.

So, the governing Standing Order is not Standing Order 14(1) as alluded tp by Dewan Rakyat secretary Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin.

Now, article 62(1) of the federal constitution allows each House of Parliament to regulate its own procedure. Standing Order 99(1) allows the speaker to make and issue rulings on any point of interpretation of the Standing Orders or on any matter of practice. Importantly, under Standing Order 99A, failure to comply with the Standing Orders does not nullify proceedings in the House.

It remains to be seen how the speaker will interpret the provisions on Special Chamber in the Standing Orders. – July 21, 2021.

* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.