Confidence vote, election of speaker in the spotlight as Dewan Rakyat sitting begins

The vote of confidence and election of a new Dewan Rakyat speaker will be the highlights of the first day of the Parliament sitting under the government led by Prime Minister 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 item number eight on 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 with no party or coalition able to garner a simple majority.

The first meeting of the first session of the 15th Parliament will run for two days beginning today and include the swearing-in of MPs who were elected during GE15, as well as the election of Dewan Rakyat deputy speakers.

The former Dewan Rakyat speaker, Azhar Harun, confirmed vacating the position on Dec 2.

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

Lanang MP Alice Lau of DAP and Cameron Highlands MP Ramli Md Nor of Barisan Nasional are also 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) Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.

The order paper for today 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 table and approve a special allocation or mini budget to pay civil service emoluments for January.