Moonilal: I do not fear the Speaker

OROPOUCHE East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal said he has no fear of the Speaker and described her criticism of his conduct as an attack on him and his constituency.

On April 27 in Parliament Moonilal sought to raise a definite matter of urgent public importance on the use of infrastructural capacity in the energy sector to facilitate an “illegal trade” of fuel to Venezuela which TT had originally sold to Aruba. He said the matter could lead to dire economic sanctions being imposed on US energy companies and manufacturing companies operating in TT. Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George said she was not satisfied the matter qualified under standing order 17.

In a letter dated April 28 Moonilal wrote to US Ambassador Joseph Mondello on the matter including his inability to raise the matter in Parliament.

The Speaker opened Friday's sitting with an announcement that lambasted Moonilal's behaviour, saying he used social media and writing to foreign authorities to distort the rules of the House. She slammed his behaviour as egregious, intolerable, beneath the dignity of the House and tantamount to contempt, and called on him to apologise.

Moonilal, in a phone interview, said he was not in the House to hear her statement but subsequently received a copy, which he immediately referred to the executive of the Oropouche East constituency. The executive is scheduled to meet Saturday afternoon in an emergency session to discuss the matter and determine the next course of action "since I see this as an attack on the Member for Oropouche East, an elected member, where over 15,000 persons have voted for me.

"I have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and the law and I have taken an oath to execute my duties without fear or favour. And I do not fear the Speaker and I do not favour the Speaker."

He said he expected his constituents will have something to say to the Speaker in the coming days.

He pointed out that any MP can refer another to the Privileges Committee if they believe the member has been in contempt, but he was not sure the Speaker can do that. Moonilal said from the statement, the Speaker was making a judgement on his conduct and he thinks this is "unbecoming." He added that if a member raised a matter of contempt the Speaker would adjudicate.

"The Speaker is not a judge, jury and executioner."

He questioned what would happen if another member sought to raise the matter as a matter of contempt, as the Speaker cannot adjudicate, as she has already made a judgement call.

He pointed out that in his letter to Mondello he said the motion was raised and was rejected on the ground that it did not meet the high bar required for such a standing order.

"It is the very point the Speaker is making in her statement, I indicated to the US authority.

"I cast no aspersions on the Speaker and no criticisms of her ruling. I was very careful in that letter."

He added: "The Speaker did not read the letter, I am sure. Otherwise she would not have jumped to these misleading and inflammatory remarks about a sitting, elected member of Parliament. And quite frankly, I am getting damn fed up of people now casting aspersions on my character and integrity."

He pointed out the Speaker did not mention a prominent case in the media on whether she was conflicted or compromised in ruling on a motion, though her husband is the chairman of the oil company accused of selling oil to US-embargoed Venezuela.

On the criticism his letter to Mondello received from former speaker Nizam Mohammed and retired head of the public service Reginald Dumas Moonilal replied that people are entitled to their opinions.