The Perak state assembly will be holding its first sitting on June 28 and the post of Speaker is expected to be contested by both the ruling and opposition camps.
Citing higher voter support than BN, Pakatan Rakyat feels it should be given the post of state legislative assembly Speaker, but BN is not expected to surrender the post just that.
Other than the swearing-in ceremony for state assemblymen, the appointment of Speaker and Deputy Speaker is also the focal point of public attention.
State DAP secretary Nga Kor Ming said Pakatan would apply pressure on BN through public consensus to fight for the posts of state assembly Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
The state Pakatan leadership had discussed suitable candidates for the posts in a meeting yesterday and since Perak PAS deputy chairman Nizar Jamaluddin was attending a meeting overseas, no decision had been made although a few suitable individuals had been named.
When contacted by Sin Chew Daily, Nga said Pakatan secured 55% of votes during the 13th general elections, higher than BN's 44% and therefore BN should respect the views of majority of electorate by allowing Pakatan representatives to be the state assembly Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
Once a Pakatan representative has been appointed the Speaker, a committee similar to Selcat of Selangor will be established in order to effectively oversee the operation of the state government.
Although Nga admitted this was seemingly impossible, Pakatan would fight for the above posts.
Meanwhile, Perak DAP chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham said nominating Speaker and Deputy Speaker is a normal procedure, adding that BN also nominated its own candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker after Pakatan won the state elections in March 2008.
He said even if the candidates nominated by Pakatan were eventually not appointed, Pakatan would not boycott the state assembly sittings.
He nevertheless insisted that the new Speaker must act professionally, allowing representatives from both BN and Pakatan to have equal chances of debating in state assembly sittings.
"BN's previous Speaker was unprofessional and did not respect the opposition reps. He would turn off the microphone of Pakatan reps trying to speak in the state assembly, limit their speaking time to 5 to 10 minutes, and only the speeches of BN reps were recorded in the minutes.
"This is unfair to Pakatan reps and if this happens again, we do not rule out the possibility of boycotting the state assembly."
In the meantime, MIC president G. Palanivel has earlier said if the party has not been offered the post of Perak state assembly Speaker, the party will not accept any official post in the state government.
Although MIC failed to secure a seat in the state elections, BN is still expected to nominate an MIC leader as Perak Speaker. Datuk R. Ganesan from MIC was the previous Speaker.
Of the 31 state seats won by the BN in GE13, Umno took 30 and MCA won the remaining seat.
- Sin Chew Daily
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