KUCHING: The motion to table Citizens Initiated Referendum Bill, 2017 was dismissed by the Speaker of Sarawak State Legislative Assembly last Friday.
See Chee How (Batu Lintang –PKR) tabled the motion which sought to enact an ordinance which provides for the holding, on specific questions, of citizens initiated referendum, the results of which referendum will indicate the views held by the people of Sarawak on specific questions but will not be binding on the Government of the State of Sarawak.
In rejecting the motion, Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Speaker, Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar said the proposed Bill introduced by the honorable member for Batu Lintang would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund, among others, and therefore was not allowed.
The proposed Bill was not in the form of a motion as required under Standing Order 45 (2) which failed to meet the requirement under Standing Order 45 (2). The motion also exceeded the 250 words allowed.
He said the Clauses of the Bill intruded into the exclusive reserved and domain of the Election Commission constituted under Article 4114 of the Federal Constitution and it duplicated the role and the function of the Election Commission and the conduct of the Election Commission under Article 113 (1) of the Federal Constitution.
The Speaker said Malaysia is a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster Model.
“This Bill, however seeks to unconstitutionally adopt the Swiss Model of direct democracy where the Swiss Constitution could only be changed by way of a referendum.
He said there is no provision neither in the Federal Constitution nor in the State Constitution that allowed referendum, and the Federal and the State Constitutions only allow elections. He said decisions are made in national parliament and state legislature based on a majority decision.
He said the motion has also not obtained the written consent of the Minister for Finance under Standing Order 23 (5).
He added that a referendum is the process of submitting a law to the popular vote. In 1847 this was in reference to a practice in Swiss politics.
Asfia said there are many types of referendums and the financing of a referred referendum is by no mean cheap and a political scientist had estimated the financing of a referendum campaign could be up to around one hundred million Swiss frans.
“Therefore the motion required the consent of Minister of Finance under Standing Order 23 (3) because referendum incurred astronomical cost. It involves an election among mass population for every decision to be made instead of allowing parliament or state legislature to vote on established constitutional basis.”
Election is a federal subject and the machinery of government includes election to both houses of parliament, under the legislative assembly of the state and shall and all matters related therewith pursuant to 9 Schedule Article 74, 77, 6 (a).
When it was put to vote, nine agreed while 58 were against it.
