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Lettre ouverte de Rama Valayden au Speaker

L’avocat et homme politique a écrit au Président de l’Assemblée Nationale sur sa façon d’agir lors des séances parlementaires et qui ne font pas honneur au poste ni au pays.

Honourable Speaker,
Every time I see you presiding Prime Minister’s Question Time, Question Time and the debates you fill my whole body fibres with a sense of disgust that I feel like vomiting. Luckily, I have been bestowed upon with a strong stomach. And yet, I know that apart from your vicissitudes (like ending up in the middle of a roundabout in the early hours of the morning without even realising what you have done) you are not a bad man. Not at all!

Mr Speaker Sir, your greatest quality is that you are so loyal to the Honourable Prime Minister that you will immolate your self respect and dignity for him and unfortunately by so doing the flames will engulf your beloved nominator. You know the story of the foolish but ultra-loyal bear. Mr Speaker Sir, recently I met a group of about twenty law students from different universities as you are so persuasive the conversation was around your role as Speaker of the National Assembly. During the exchange with these young patriots, I asked them to close their eyes and imagine they are members of the National Assembly and you are presiding the debates. Then I asked them what image popped up? I was surprised that all of them answered that they can see you standing in the most grandiloquent way and uttering “I order you Out! Out! Out!”

I was very perturbed that they have such a catastrophic image of your person as a Speaker. In their minds, you are like Cerberus the hounds of hades who was the ferocious guardian of the underworld, in Greek mythology, to prevent the dead from leaving….But you Honourable speaker, your role is different you order out members of the opposition without any qualms and yet you are a barrister who surely have studied ethics. Cerberus is a multi-headed dog. Honourable Speaker Sir surely you can’t be in anyway be likened to a Cerberus.

I decided to probe further by asking the young law students to answer in writing the following questions:
1. Is our Honourable Speaker doing his job properly as Speaker?
2. Is our Honourable Speaker acting fairly at the National Assembly?
3. Are you proud of our Honourable Speaker?

The whole exercise lasted around ten minutes. The folded answers were remitted to me. I open and read with gusto the answers. For the first two questions you received a thumping zero out of twenty. I feel ashamed. Try the same exercise with your nephews and nieces and you will surely receive the confirmation.

Honourable Speaker Sir, please don’t ask me what the answers were for the third question. Please Honourable Speaker don’t try to know. The least you know, the better for your health. Imagine how low you are in the mind of our young law students. As Speaker you should have been a role model. The symbol of impartiality like the Hindu God Dharma or for those who are not well versed in Hindu mythology, like Themis the Greek Goddess of Justice, one of the twelves Titans.

Honourable Mr Speaker Sir, it is high time you mend your ways.
Let me honestly send to you my heartfelt wishes for the year 2024:
1. That you act impartially during 2024.
2. That as holder of the office of Speaker you act as a true guardian of the traditions of parliamentary democracy.
3. That you start by keeping the decorum. Don’t be like a firecracker.
4. That you act and ensure you are truly independent. Don’t be an appendix of the executive.
5. That you don’t act impetuously and bring our National Assembly in disrepute. To avoid same you can adjourn to have a glass of cold water.

I hope you will ponder over my open letter. In person, we barristers know that you are a different and therefore I pray that you will cast aside clownish persona.

I pray you find some time to read Christmas Carol of Charles Dickens where scrooge changed within a night.

Honourable Speaker Sir may the spirit of Christmas and New Year change you radically as Speaker.

Merry Xmas & Happy New Year to you, your family and all Honourable Members of the August National Assembly.

God Bless!
Yours in Peace,

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