Ling supports suggestion for BN senators to resign
MIRI: The Dewan Negara is still dominated by BN and PAS senators, causing great concern among the public as they could delay government Bills.
As such, he supports DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang’s suggestion that senators who were appointed by the King under the previous BN government should resign, said Sarawak Pakatan Harapan ( PH) secretary Alan Ling Sie Kiong.
“I support the move for senators who were previously appointed by BN government to resign and pave way for new blood under Pakatan Harapan government to helm,” Ling said when asked about the comment made by Lim.
According to Ling, if there exist differences between the Senate ( Dewan Negara) and Lower House ( Dewan Rakyat/ Parliament), then the Lower House can bypass the Senate after one month in the case of financial Bills and no less than one year in the case of nonfinancial Bills.
He said the Dewan Negara
I support the move for senators who were previously appointed by BN government to resign and pave way for new blood under Pakatan Harapan government to helm. Alan Ling Sie Kiong, Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) secretary
is an essential component of Parliament and under Article 68 of the Federal Constitution; its assent is needed for the passage of all legislation in Parliament.
Ling, however, acknowledged that the current tenure for BN’s recommended senators were still valid as under Article 48 (1) of the Federal Constitution, senators may only be removed if they are declared to be of unsound mind, bankrupt, found to have engaged in corruption, to have contested for a federal or state seat, acted as an election agent or sentenced to no less than a year’s imprisonment or fined no less than RM2,000.
Under the Federal Constitution, senators cannot be removed unless they are disqualified or resign on their own.
This means the Dewan Negara consisting largely of BN’s appointees could effectively delay Pakatan Harapan’s legal reforms by up to a year before these can be presented to the Yang d-Pertuan Agong for his royal assent and becoming law, Ling said.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Prime Minister still has a few quota in hand to make recommendation to the Agong for the appointment of senators and it is expected that the second batch of senators will likely be sworn in before the Senate sits in late August to at the very least, get the number closer to that of the previous government’s numbers.
It is also expected that the appointment of senators as minister and deputy minister by the PH government will build up strength in the Dewan Negara for the new government to see through the reforms and implementation of new policies. The Dewan Negara will normally sit right after the Dewan Rakyat’s session.
According to a source, the Dewan Negara will be sitting from this Aug 20 until Sept 11.
Currently, Dewan Negara has 70 senators, of which 44 were appointed by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister with 26 others elected by their respective state legislative assemblies for the post.