PM to nominate Art Harun as Dewan Rakyat Speaker, Azalina as Deputy Speaker

KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to nominate Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun as the Dewan Rakyat Speaker, and Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said as the Deputy Speaker, during the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting on July 13.

Muhyiddin is scheduled to move for Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof and Deputy Speaker Nga Ko Ming to vacate their positions for Azhar’s and Azalina’s nominations respectively on July 13, according to an Order Paper issued to all Members of Parliament (MPs) that was sighted by theedgemarkets.com.

Muhyiddin had also received the agreement of the two individuals to serve the positions should they be nominated and elected by the MPs, in line with Order 4(1) of the Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat, the motion said.

As recently as last week, electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 called for the MPs to reject the motion to remove Mohamad Arif and Nga from the positions.

Speculation had been rife in recent weeks about the nomination of Azhar, better known as Art Harun, as the Speaker. The trained lawyer currently serves as the chairman of the Election Commission (EC).

Meanwhile, Azalina, who is currently a member of the Umno supreme council, has served multiple roles in the Cabinet, including her last stint as the law minister in the Prime Minister’s Department under former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak up until May 2018. She is currently the Umno MP for Pengerang.

The July 13 session will be the second meeting of the third session of the 14th Parliament, scheduled to last 25 days until Aug 27.  - theedgemarkets.com