Confidence vote, election of Speaker the focus of Dec 19 Dewan Rakyat session

KUALA LUMPUR: The vote of confidence and the election of the new Dewan Rakyat Speaker will be the highlights of the first day of the 15th Parliament sitting under the Unity Government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The vote of confidence to determine the legitimacy of Anwar’s appointment as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister on Nov 24 is listed as number eight of the Order Paper.

It aims to prove that he has the support of the majority of MPs to lead the new government after the 15th General Election (GE15) results led to a hung Parliament as no party or coalition was able to garner a simple majority.

The first meeting of the first session of 15th Parliament will run for two days beginning Monday (Dec 19) and include the swearing-in of MPs who were elected during GE15, as well as the election of Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speakers.

Former Dewan Rakyat Speaker, Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, confirmed vacating the position on Dec 2.

According to media reports, Sungai Petani MP Datuk Johari Abdul is said to be Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) choice as Speaker while Perikatan Nasional (PN) is said to be nominating former home minister Tan Sri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad for the post.

Also, Lanang MP Alice Lau of DAP and Cameron Highlands MP Ramli Md Nor of Barisan Nasional (BN) are reported to be nominated for the posts of Deputy Speaker, while PN’s choice seems to be former deputy minister in prime minister’s department (parliament and law) Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.

The Order Papers for Monday also lists the tabling of other government legislation and matters.

Anwar had announced during a media conference on Dec 5 that the first Parliament sitting would also table and approve a special allocation or mini budget to pay civil service emoluments for January. - Bernama