KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 19): Parliament has not received any motion of no confidence against incumbent Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for Dewan Rakyat’s first session this year, which is slated to start next Monday (Feb 26), according to Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul.

“Before you ask me, let me tell you, number one, there are no letters or request for motion of no confidence [against PM], none, I have not received anything, either black and white, email or call,” he told a press briefing on Monday (Feb 19).

Last month, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor was reported as saying that the opposition had garnered sufficient numbers of statutory declarations to overthrow Anwar's administration.

However, leaders of the coalition that forms the government of the day, including Anwar, brushed off such claims, with the PM himself challenging the opposition to bring a motion of no confidence to Dewan Rakyat.

At Monday's briefing, Johari said the agenda for the lower house's first session this year, which runs through March 27, is mainly amendments to existing legislation, and that no motion for new laws have been submitted to his office as yet.

“At the moment, we have a few amendments coming in the pipeline, so it is too early for me to say [whether there will be new bills tabled], because we are calling the ministries for the finalisation of certain things. We will inform you certainly, a few days before Feb 26,” he said.

“We are trying to look at the whole spectrum, because we will be having a session in Ramadhan month, remember that, so we are trying to work out how best [to ensure] all bills, especially important bills, get through," he said.

Revival of Parliamentary Services Act still in progress

Johari also said that discussions for the revival of the Parliamentary Services Act (PSA) with the executive branch are still ongoing, and that a meeting was held on the matter last week with Anwar and the de facto law minister, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

“The PM is always stern as what has been documented in his speech many times and in manifesto and campaigning, that the separation of power must take place. He believes in that. That is why he has been pushing for the [law] minister to look into it very fast,” said Johari.

“In fact, the draft was there, with all agencies involved, and we talked about it. The bill will come in, probably not in this sitting, [then the] second sitting. But definitely it's coming. There is an urgency there, the prime minister wants it, because I attended the meeting, the law minister was there, and the former president of the Upper House was there.

“We have certain little things to add up, like who does what and stuff like that, but the rest are minor. We hope to see it happen and we are yet to receive the bill. But I hope the minister will bring it up, probably, if not this sitting, then probably next sitting,” he added.

The PSA empowers the Parliament to have its own autonomy — on matters ranging from staff recruitment to having the power to dictate its annual spending — as compared to the current arrangement where the legislative branch is governed under a so-called “Prime Minister Department”.

The Act was first introduced in 1963 but was repealed nearly three decades later in 1992 during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration between 1981 and 2003.

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