PARLIAMENT SIZZLES: 'Secret' ballot abused, Pandikar elected Speaker amid youth protests

Malaysia's Parliament got off to the fiery start expected by most in the country after one of the most divisive and controversial general elections ever held.

At Parliament's door step to greet Prime Minister Najib Razak were dozens of youth activists demanding the resignation of the Election Commission chiefs and even after the sitting in the August house had begun, the demonstrators were unwilling to disperse.

"No, we are getting even stronger. We have a joint memorandum to hand over to our leaders in Parliament," Roslan Islmail, the head of Kelantan-based Ambang 13 pro-democracy outfit, told Malaysia Chronicle.

The group, along with dozens of other student protesters, had earlier handed over a copy of their memorandum to the Opposition which was received by PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua and DAP rep M Manogaran. As the police had blocked the entry to Parliament, Tian and his colleagues received the memo at the roadside just outside Parliament.

Oath-taking after controversial 'secret' ballot

Meanwhile, the first session of the Lower House (Dewan Rakyat) began at 10am.

Prime Minister Najib Razak led the swearing-in of the Dewan's 222 elected representatives. The oath-taking had followed another explosive session. As expected Najib's Umno-BN coalition steamrolled their way through the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

The Opposition's demand for a secret ballot was effectively brushed aside, with all the Members of Parliament compelled to sign their names on the ballot slips. This paved he way for Umno reps Pandikar Amin Mulia and Ronald Kiandee to be elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively.

"Standing orders breached- MPs made to put down names in ballot for speaker- Najib does not trust his own men," tweeted N Surendran, the first-time MP for Padang Serai.

"Voting blocs - TS Pandikar Amin 133 MPs / Dtk Kadir Sulaiman 89 MPs. Speaker 4 Dewan Rakyat is finalized," tweeted Nurul Izzah, who was returned by her constituents for second term as MP for Lembah Pantai.

"Only in Malaysia. Secret Balloting with Member's of Parliament name on the ballot. Last I check secret means Rahsia. Parliament convenes!" tweeted Anas Alam Faizili, whose comment typified the uproar sparked on 'Twitterjaya' as commentators swamped the social media network to follow the proceedings.

Let's 'Berubah'

In his acceptance speech, Pandikar poked fun at the campaign slogans used by his Opposition rivals such as 'Ubah' (change), 'Transformasi' (transformation), 'Reformasi' (reform), 'Ini kali lah' (this is the time), 'Kalau bukan kita siapa lagi' (if not us, who will?) and 'Kalau bukan sekarang bila lagi' (If not not now, when?)

"To those who made these slogans popular, maybe they have their own understanding of what these words should mean. For me, the message should be 'change your attitude to do good'.  With this, I urge all the honorable MPs to adopt this attitide in the Lower house. Ayoh! (Come on!), Kita ber-reformasi (Let's reform), Kalau bukan kita siapa lagi (if not us, who will?), Kalau bukan sekarang bila lagi (If not not now, when?). Ini kali lah (This is the time!)," said Pandikar, who has been accused of "gross bias" by the Opposition in past sittings.

MORE TO COME

Malaysia Chronicle