Subscribe to our Telegram channel for our latest stories and breaking news.
UMNO’s Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said believes that if the new administration is serious about reforms and bipartisanship, it should offer the Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker post to the Opposition
The former deputy speaker emphasised that the motion to do so must be by the government.
The Pengerang member of Parliament (MP) recently resigned from the post, citing a lack of impartiality.
Azalina was sharing her thoughts about the suspension of Parliament and the recent developments that show the fall of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration during a forum on parliamentary reform.
The forum, which was streamed live on Facebook earlier today, 26 August, was moderated by professor Wong Chin Huat of the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia.
Image via Azalina Othman Said (Facebook)
According to Azalina, this is the best opportunity for newly-minted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakon to get the ball rolling
She was asked about what the government and opposition could do to promote greater cooperation, to which the UMNO politician replied that it’s “so obvious, la bro”.
“It (the deputy speaker post) should be replaced by an opposition member. But the motion must be by the government,” she said, explaining that if the opposition brings the motion then there will be fights.
“It’s the best opportunity for the Prime Minister to offer that post as a gesture, to start the ball rolling because the reforms will take time and it’s not going to be a one-day sitting and we will be done.”
Azalina believes that an opposition member being appointed to the post of deputy speaker is something that is achievable but only if the government is the one that brings the motion.
“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 that gesture that we want Parliament to be a professional platform,” the Pengerang MP shared during the forum.