KUALA LUMPUR:
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia says he has not received any notice from any party with regard to any motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. “I have not received anything yet. No notice has been submitted to my office so far,” he told Bernama last night. He said any party could submit a request to table a motion based on two provisions under the Standing Orders. The first is Order 27(1) which provides for a motion to be tabled by any member of Parliament (MP) on any specific subject but the MP must give a 14-day notice while the second is Order 18(1) when the House debates a motion of public interest deemed as urgent. Unlike Order 27(1) where a 14-day notice is needed, Order 18(1) only needs a 48-hour notice or two clear working days. This mean, whoever is planning to table the motion on Monday must submit the notice to the Dewan Rakyat speaker by today at the latest. When asked would he accept such a requisition, Pandikar said any MP could propose a motion in the House provided it meets the provisions of the Standing Orders. “Whether it is going to be accepted or not, I would have to look at it first before making a decision,” he said. Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Yong Teck Lee in declaring that his party has lost confidence in Abdullah’s leadership, said the party’s two MPs (Sepanggar and Tawau) would support a motion for a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister in the Parliament sitting on Monday. Yong who is a former Sabah Chief Minister, said Sepanggar MP Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun, who is now overseas on official duty, had made his stand in a signed press statement while Tawau MP Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui read out her statement during a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Kota Kinabalu. “Whether the motion will be tabled by our MPs or another MP will be decided in due course,” Yong said at the press conference. Yong said Eric was expected to return to Malaysia in time for the Parliament session on June 23. - Bernama
