PARLIAMENT | Anwar Ibrahim has become the first MP to shift directly from the opposition leader’s seat to the prime minister’s seat in Parliament.
His opposition leader seat will be replaced by Hamzah Zainudin (Perikatan Nasional-Larut), who is undergoing his second stint as an opposition MP since 2018.
The opposition leader’s position is highly significant because this MP will often be the first to speak during debates on important bills.
It is also a tradition in Westminster systems to reserve the opposition leader’s position for prime ministerial candidates.
Hamzah (above, right), 65, was previously the home minister during the Muhyiddin Yassin administration and subsequently the administration of Ismail Sabri Yaakob (above, left).
Anwar’s prime ministerial predecessor Ismail Sabri (BN-Bera) has been relegated to Block D, albeit on the front bench of the Dewan Rakyat.
At the Dewan Rakyat sitting today, Ismail Sabri was sandwiched between PKR adviser Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Pakatan Harapan-Bandar Tun Razak) and DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng (Harapan-Bagan).
Seats in Block D of the Dewan Rakyat are directly opposite the speaker and are generally filled by senior backbenchers.
Like Anwar, Ismail Sabri was once an opposition leader, holding the position between March 2019 and February 2020.
The other former prime minister in the Dewan Rakyat was Muhyiddin Yassin (PN-Pagoh), who sat next to Hamzah.
Muhyiddin’s position was significant because it indicated that he outranked PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (PN-Marang) in their coalition’s MP hierarchy.
Seating arrangements
Seated on Anwar’s right flank are his four main partners - BN chairperson and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (BN-Bagan Datuk), Fadillah Yusof (GPS-Petra Jaya), DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke (Harapan-Seremban), and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu (Harapan-Kota Raja).
Significantly, Anwar chose to have his home minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, (Harapan-Senator) sit behind him.
The two previous prime ministers have reserved that seat for their law ministers - Muhyiddin’s Takiyuddin Hassan and Ismail Sabri’s Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
Instead, Anwar’s law minister Azalina Othman Said (BN-Pengerang) sat on row three, right behind Saifuddin.
The law minister is a key position and is often called upon by the prime minister to explain bills to the Dewan Rakyat, especially those concerning the Federal Constitution.
Meanwhile, the Parliament website lists Jonathan Yasin (GRS-Ranau) and Matbali Musah (GRS-Sipitang) as “Bersatu” members.
However, the website does not list Armizan Mohd Ali (Papar) and Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), who are both MPs who won on a Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) ticket.
The four announced their departure from Bersatu on Dec 10, sparking speculation on whether their decision had triggered the “anti-hopping” provisions contained in Article 49A of the Federal Constitution. - Mkini
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