SEREMBAN: With the Negri Sembilan budget to be tabled soon, the time was right to appoint a new state assembly deputy speaker, says Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.
"We are going to table the state budget soon and there will be plenty of discussions, debates and questions.
"Initially, we thought the Speaker could handle it but then we later decided to get him a deputy," he said, dismissing talk he was being pressured into filling the post.
Aminuddin said although there was no urgency to name a deputy speaker after the state election two years ago, the time had come to fill the vacancy.
"There was no pressure from anyone. In fact, both the Opposition and unity government parties – including my own – had proposed to fill the position," he said.
He said the current Speaker, Datuk MK Ibrahim Abdul Rahman from Amanah, had also asked for the deputy speaker post to be filled.
On Aug 4, Lenggeng assemblyman Datuk Mohd Asna Amin was named Deputy Speaker.
Mohd Asna, who serves as Seremban Umno vice-chief, is a first-term assemblyman.
Datuk M. Ravi was the last deputy speaker of the Negri State Assembly, who served from 2018 to 2023.
