Art Harun to vacate speaker post by Dec 18

 

The Dewan Rakyat is set to reconvene on Dec 19 as it may have to hold a vote to elect a new speaker to replace Azhar Azizan Harun.

Azhar (above), better known as Art Harun, was quoted as saying that he will have to vacate his seat as speaker by Dec 18.

“Based on the Federal Constitution, I will have to vacate my chair at the stroke of midnight on Dec 18.

“There will be no speaker when the Dewan Rakyat convenes at 10am on Dec 19,” Azhar said in a report by The Star, adding that the secretary of the House will be tasked with calling the august House to order.

“Then comes the process of electing a speaker.

“If there is only one name proposed, the secretary will proclaim the Speaker, who will then take his oath.

“However, an election must be held if more than one candidate is proposed for the post by the respective parties,” said the outgoing speaker.

Potential candidates must be nominated to the House by Dec 5, in accordance with the 14-day notice prerequisite, Azhar said.

Once a new speaker was elected, he added, all MPs are to take their oath before him or her. 

The speaker will then preside over the appointment of a deputy speaker.

Similarly, an election would be held if more than one individual is nominated for the post.

Azhar faced no opposition when appointed as the speaker in July 2020 after then-speaker, Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, was told to give up the position following the Sheraton Move political coup.

Anwar’s confidence vote

Asked if the vote of confidence for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will be carried out during this session, Azhar said: “This (vote of confidence) has been listed as item Number 8 in the Order Paper.”

According to a notice sent out to MPs today, the first order of business will be the appointment of the Dewan Rakyat speaker.

This process will be the first test of Anwar’s majority support in Parliament.

This will be followed by the swearing-in ceremony for MPs and the election of the deputy Dewan Rakyat speakers.

The following day, on Dec 20, the Dewan Rakyat is to convene once more to table a “mini-budget” for civil service emoluments while waiting for the new finance minister to craft the full budget for 2023.

This two-day meeting will take place 25 days after the swearing-in of the prime minister.

Asked how he felt about having to vacate his post, Azhar said he was honoured to have been granted the opportunity to serve in his role.

“I have enjoyed my time as speaker. It has been a fulfilling job,” he said.