Johor opposition won't nominate speaker candidate tomorrow

 

As the 15th Johor legislative assembly convenes for its first time tomorrow, the main agenda will be the swearing-in ceremony of new assemblypersons and the election of a new speaker.

However, the main opposition bloc, Pakatan Harapan, will not be nominating a candidate for the speaker post this time around.

Johor opposition leader Liew Chin Tong confirmed this to Malaysiakini.

"No, we (Harapan) will not nominate anyone," he said.

The Perling assemblyperson added that tomorrow's meeting at the Sultan Ismail Building, Johor Bahru, will be chaired by the state assembly secretary until a new speaker is elected.

Johor exco member Ling Tian Soon, meanwhile, told Malaysiakini the Johor sultan will not be making his address tomorrow, meaning the swearing-in ceremony and election of key positions in the house will be the only major items on the agenda.

According to Utusan Malaysia, Rengit assemblyperson Mohd Puad Zarkashi is likely to be BN's candidate for speaker, with Semarang assemblyperson Samsolbari Jamali as his possible deputy.

Puad is an Umno supreme council member as well as its Batu Pahat division chief.

Rengit assemblyperson Mohd Puad Zarkashi

It's believed that he stands a better chance than the other possible candidates, including Sri Medan assemblyperson Zulkurnain Kamisan and former Rengit representative Ayub Jamil.

Samsolbari is the Johor Umno secretary and Ayer Hitam division chief.

Departure from previous practice

If the report turns out to be correct, this will mark a departure from the previous practice where the speaker will not be picked from among the state assembly's 56 elected representatives, especially one from the government's side.

Only the deputy speaker post would be occupied by an assemblyperson from the ruling coalition.

This is to ensure all elected representatives can participate in the voting session if there is any government motion that requires majority support of the house.

However, it's unclear if this practice is still relevant since Johor BN has garnered a supermajority in the house, holding 40 out of the 56 state seats.

The previous Johor speaker was Amanah's Suhaizan Kayat, who was elected to the post in 2018 following Harapan's electoral victory in the state, with DAP's Penggaram assemblyperson Gan Peck Cheng as his deputy.

Suhaizan had contested in the 2018 general election as well as the latest state polls but failed in getting elected as a Johor assemblyperson.

When BN retook control of the state government in the wake of the 2020 Sheraton Move, the then Umno menteri besar Hasni Mohammad's administration retained the Harapan-era speaker and deputy speaker. - Mkini