PN and Harapan make their moves ahead of Perak assembly sitting

Both Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan are making their manoeuvres as they set the table for the state assembly sitting on May 12.

Ahead of the first sitting since the state government changed hands from Harapan to PN, the new government is now seeking to remove the House speaker and his deputy.

The Perak speaker is DAP's Ngeh Koo Ham (photo, above) and the deputy is Amanah's Aminuddin Zulkipli.

The Perak PN government has also taken a page out of the federal government's playbook by limiting the sitting to one-day, citing the Covid-19 pandemic even though a vast section of the economy has reopened.

Perak Harapan secretariat chief V Sivakumar noted the PN government has submitted a motion to remove Ngeh and Aminuddin from their positions.

"Considering that the country is still under a movement control order, Harapan hopes that the PN government will retract the motion and postpone the election of a new speaker and deputy speaker to the following sitting," he said in a statement.

Sivakumar noted that no questions will be allowed during the upcoming one-day sitting.

On Harapan's side, it is also preparing its role as the opposition by appointing DAP's Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson as the state opposition leader.

"Aziz is a law expert, particularly on the constitution. He is an academic and former professor at the International Islamic University's law faculty.

"The Harapan council believes Aziz will play a key role as the Perak opposition leader in our country's parliamentary democracy," said Sivakumar.

The Harapan government at the federal level and several states collapsed after Bersatu pulled out from the coalition and a group of PKR elected representatives defected.

Together with BN, PAS, GPS and other minor parties, they formed the PN government. - Mkini