The worthless oath of ADUN Pakatan

When someone is elected to the state assembly or to Parliament, the first thing they do is to take an oath. Only then are they allowed to take their seats. For the Selangor legislative assembly, the oath goes like this:

• I will bear true faith and allegiance to the State of Selangor
• I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the State of Selangor

This is not an ordinary oath. You cannot just go somewhere, angkat sumpah and pay RM2. It is made before the Almighty and directly under Clause 72 of the state constitution, the supreme law of Selangor. Does it have any value? Is it just a mere formality — just say and forget?

When a dispute broke out between Parti Keadilan Rakyat and their former member Khalid Ibrahim, the various wakil rakyat who come from Pakatan Rakyat parties went and took anotheroath, under civil law, which is one level below the Constitution.

From the Selangor state constitution

They said they no longer support the member for Port Kelang and do not wish him to continue as Menteri Besar of Selangor.

The Wakil Pelabuhan Kelang is Khalid Ibrahim, a member of the state assembly like those who made the declarations: all of them took the same oath under Article 72.

Now you have two sets of oaths.

One set of oaths was made by all Ahli Dewan under the Constitution. Another set was made by some Ahli Dewan under…what, party instructions? Which oath carries more weight, more responsibility to the people of Selangor? An oath under civil law or an oath under the supreme law of the Constitution?

The Speaker…robbed of all dignity by politicians

When the Ahli Dewan decided they do not support Wakil Port Kelang, they by-passed their head, the Speaker, and robbed the office of all dignity.

The Speaker is not just another member. All Ahli Dewan take their oaths of office before the Speaker. Only then can they take their seat. When they resign, they write to the Speaker. When they cannot attend a sitting, they must ask leave from the Speaker. When they have a question or motion for debate, they submit it to the Speaker.

The Speaker decides who may speak, who should sit down and shut up, who is in order and who is not, whether a member is misbehaving and should be suspended; whether to accept motions for debate.

It is a serious job. The Speaker as head of the legislative branch of government is on equal terms with the menteri besar, head of the executive branch.

But instead of complaining to her, the Ahli Dewan ignored their head and empowered the newly-elected Wakil Kajang. Does Wakil Kajang now own the Dewan Negeri?

Does Wakil Kajang own the Dewan Negeri?

Who is in charge of Dewan Negeri Selangor now?

Is it the Speaker, elected under the constitution, or the newcomer Wakil Kajang who took a constitutional oath in front of the Speaker and who, while in the house, must obey the Speaker?

Has the Speaker now become answerable to Wakil Kajang?

What happened to their sworn promise to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the State of Selangor” so help you God? Or did they actually say under their breaths, “I will preserve, protect and defend the interests of my party and our patrons and screw the Constitution of the State of Selangor”?

Does an oath by these Honourable Members have any value? Do these Honourable Members value the Constitution at all? What, really, is the value of honour?

The question hangs in the balance but for politicians the answer is probably — not very much. -uppercaise