Broken Speaker

Kuala Lumpur Dec 21 2021

 

Even if his own family members went missing, starving for food, stranded and forced to sit on their roof tops in the continuous pouring rain for days, the agenda at hand would still be the most important matter to him.

This is what Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun ACTUALLY meant when he did not allow for the current national flood crisis to be debated in Parliament yesterday (Dec 20 2021).

“We only have one agenda today. That is the debate on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act.

 

“I don’t have the power to allow the jump from one issue to another,” Azhar (pic) told the Dewan Rakyat.

Many MPs including Lembah Pantai’s Fahmi Fadzil reminded Azhar that the Speaker possessed the discretion to allow an emergency debate that affects the public, especially when it involves natural disasters which to date has claimed 14 lives, made thousands homeless with properties, infrastructure and roads destroyed. 

The pleading by the MPs to discuss the crisis that is currently affecting the whole country fell onto deaf ears as Azhar was hell bent on maintaining his decision.

Malaysians, who continue to slam the government for the inefficiency and lackadaisical attitude in handling the flood crisis also openly lashed out at Azhar on the social media platform. 

In September, Azhar has denied claims that he rejected 15 motions calling for his removal from office.

He replaced Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, who stepped down when a motion for his removal was made.

Azhar was appointed Dewan Rakyat Speaker in July last year during Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration.

As of today (Dec 21 2021), 14 people have lost their lives and many more have been reported as missing and the death toll could unfortunately increase in the coming days.

So far, more than 51,000 people had been evacuated from their homes.

Most victims are from Pahang and Selangor, two of the worst hit states.