Appointment of new deputy speaker put off yet again

 

Law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar tabled the motion to postpone the appointment of a new deputy speaker until the next meeting of Parliament. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: A motion to elect a new deputy speaker in the Dewan Rakyat has been postponed to the next meeting, the fifth time it has been deferred.

The motion to postpone the appointment was made by law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, while his deputy, Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, seconded it.

At a press conference, Wan Junaidi said the motion was put off yet again as only the government had submitted a candidate for the position left vacant since Azalina Othman Said resigned from the post in August 2021.

He said he had called opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (PH-Port Dickson) to inform him about the matter.

“Because there was no candidate from Pakatan Harapan, based on our previous understanding, we (the government) decided to retract our candidate.

“We don’t want to take advantage of others,” he said.

Azalina (BN-Pengerang) had resigned as the deputy speaker on Aug 23 – after Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government came to power – citing moral, personal and political conflicts as the reasons.

She had assumed the role temporarily in past meetings, as the speaker can ask any MP to chair proceedings. Ramli Mohd Nor (BN-Cameron Highlands) had also chaired Dewan Rakyat proceedings in March, becoming the first Orang Asli to do so.

The other deputy speaker is Mohd Rashid Hasnon. - FMT