Tuesday 11 January 2011

Can the Selangor Speaker call a Dewan Undangan Negeri Session in his own right?

Here is news from the NST:


Selangor State Assembly sitting Jan 24
2011/01/11


SHAH ALAM: Selangor is to convene a meeting of the state legislative assembly on Jan 24 to amend the state constitution, apparently to revert to the state and the sultan the power to appoint the state secretary, state legal advisor and state financial officer.


State Assembly Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim has instructed that a notice be issued to all assemblymen in accordance with Regulation 10 (3) of the Standing Orders of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly stating that the meeting would be held at 10 am on that day, said a media statement issued by the office of the speaker here today.


It also said that the meeting was being held after Teng was satisfied with the reason given by Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim that the matter was of public interest.


The agenda of the meeting would be distributed to the assemblymen after it had been set by Abdul Khalid, the statement said.


Teng had been reported as saying that the meeting was a continuation of the state legislative assembly session which was adjourned on Nov 15. - Bernama


Please correct me if I am wrong, but according to Datuk Teng the last Selangor Assembly Session was adjourned on Nov. 15, this would mean that Nov. 15 is the "last sitting" of the previous assembly session is it not? 


So how could the Assembly to be called on January 24th 2011 be a continuation of the previous last year's session?


According to the Selangor Constitution Article 70(1) which says that "His Highness from time to time by Proclamation published in the Gazette summon the Legislative assembly and shall not allow six months to elapse between the last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first meeting in the next session". Refer here.


The NST/Bernama Report did not mention that the Selangor Speaker Datuk Teng had obtained a proclamation from the DYMM Sultan of Selangor to summon the Assembly. 


So, does the Speaker have powers in the Selangor Constitution to call for an Assembly without  assent from the DYMM Sultan? If the DYMM Sultan's Proclamation has not been obtained then would that not make the Assembly unlawful? Never mind that its just a futile political exercise destined to fail as they will never get the 2/3rd majority vote that they want to secure for a Constitutional amendment which is still under wraps and is still a mystery.

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