Rais Yatim elected new Dewan Negara president

PARLIAMENT | Dewan Negara has elected Bersatu senator Rais Yatim as its new president.

This despite an opposition attempt to block his candidacy, citing that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was not a member of the Upper House and thus could not nominate Rais for the post. 

A total of 45 senators out of 65 voted for him in the ballot, while 19 senators voted for PKR senator Yusmadi Yusoff with one senator absent.

Umno reportedly disagreed with Muhyiddin's choice of candidate and submitted its own candidate.

However, the Dewan Negara sitting which commenced today saw senators from both sides only choosing between Rais and Yusmadi. Umno's candidate for the presidency was not brought up.

Meanwhile, Pejuang senator Marzuki Yahya who had nominated Warisan senator Theodore Douglas for the post said the latter withdrew from the election.

Earlier, DAP senator Nga Hock Cheh tried to block the presidential candidate proposed by Muhyiddin, citing that the prime minister was not a member of the Upper House and, therefore, not eligible to name a candidate.

De facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan, however, stressed that Muhyiddin, as the head of the legislative council, had a right to name his candidate.

[More to follow] - Mkini