Appoint opposition as deputy speaker, says Azalina

26 Aug 2021

By Wartawan Nabalu News

KUALA LUMPUR: The government should elect a member of the opposition to helm the deputy speaker of Dewan Rakyat to ensure the spirit of bipartisanship said the former deputy speaker Datuk Seri Azalina Othman.

Azalina who is also the Pengerang MP said that such a move can be implemented and the motion should be by the government, The Malaysian Insight reported.

She asserted that this is the best opportunity for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri to offer that as a gesture and get the ball rolling where a non-government MP can be appointed into the post.

"If the government does that, and it is supported unanimously, for example, I think it would be fantastic for Malaysia’s parliamentary history because we are showing a gesture that we want Parliament to be a professional platform," she said in a virtual forum.

She was responding to the Government-Opposition mutual agreement to address the nation's current health and economic crisis as well as strengthening the function of the Malaysian Parliament.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Ismail and the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Presidential Council - PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, AMANAH President Mohamad Sabu, and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng at the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya, yesterday.

The agreement also involved the function of checking and balancing the executive management to be more transparent and meet the people's needs.

A day prior to that, Azalina tendered her official resignation as Deputy Speaker to make way for the Government and Opposition to reboot the Dewan Rakyat.