It’s a new Parliament: Swearing-in begins

General view at the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.-Bernamapic

KUALA LUMPUR: The swearing-in of Dewan Rakyat lawmakers has begun with the Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad leading the way, followed by his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

This was followed by the swearing-in of the rest of Dr Mahathir's Cabinet.

All this came after Barisan Nasional and PAS Members of Parliament staged a walkout to protest the swearing-in of Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof as the Dewan Rakyat Speaker for the 14th Parliament on Monday.

Dewan Rakyat secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah had earlier read the motion that proposed Mohamad Ariff as the sole candidate for the post.

However Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Baru) stood up and mentioned a point of order as Roosme read out the motion.

Roosme continued reading the motion, amid jeering from Barisan and PAS lawmakers who alleged the process was not transparent.

As at 10.27am Monday, the Opposition lawmakers who had staged the walkout were still in the Parliament lobby.