Pandikar served with originating summons by former Umno MP

KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia has been served with an originating summons by a former Umno MP in an attempt to disallow the tabling of the private member's bill to amend Act 355 in Parliament.
Mohamed Tawfik Ismail, who is also the son of the late Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, came to Parliament today to hand over the papers to Pandikar Amin, but was stopped by security guards at the guardhouse.
The papers were then received by staff from Pandikar Amin's office.
The papers had called for Pandikar Amin to remove the bill from the order list and to not allow it to be tabled and discussed in the House.
Tawfik in a press conference later said the suit was brought because the tabling of the bill would breach provisions in the Federal Constitution, especially as it did not receive the approval from the the Conference of Rulers.
"We have not been given any indication that the Rulers had agreed to the bill," he said, adding that bills involving religion need to be sanctioned first by the Rulers.
"If the bill is done in the proper way by getting the Rulers to agree, then no one will question its constitutionality," he added.
Tawfik had on March 31 filed a suit seeking to declare the bill, which was tabled by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, as unconstitutional.
The suit had named Pandikar Amin and Dewan Rakyat secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah as defendants.
Tawfik said it would be subjudice for the bill to be discussed now as court action has been taken against the matter.
"It is a declaration that I am seeking from the court. Therefore, automatically there is subjudice applied to anything that is still under court's consideration," he said.
Asked whether the suit would contradict legislative jurisdiction, Tawfik's lawyer Mansoor Saat explained that the speaker is subjected to laws enshrined in the constitution.
"He is subjected to the standing order, and the standing order is subjected to the constitution. There should not be any conflict between the laws," he said.