Azhar to vacate Speaker seat
Tan Sri Azhar Azizan. Photo by Bernama.
He said the upcoming Parliament sitting would be conducted by the Dewan Rakyat Secretary.
"According to the Federal Constitution, I have to vacate the seat at midnight on Dec 18.
"So, there would be no Speaker before the meeting at 10am the following day," he said told the Star.
He explained that the Dewan Rakyat Secretary will first call upon the MPs to a meeting before the process of selecting a new Speaker would be made.
"If there is one name proposed, the secretary will announce the Speaker and if there is more than one candidate, a vote will be taken," he said.
Azhar said that the candidates name needed to be submitted to the Dewan Rakyat no later than Monday in line with the 14-day notice requirement.
He said once elected, all MPs would take an oath in front of the new Speaker before presiding over the appointment of the Deputy Speaker.
"A vote will also be held if more than one name is proposed for the position of deputy speaker," he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim previously announced that the Parliament will convene on Dec 19, and that the august house will conduct a vote of confidence motion to cement support for his position as prime minister.in addition to other government motions.
The Parliament sitting will be the first under the new unity government led by Anwar.
The next item after the election of the Speaker is the swearing-in of the 222 elected MPs followed by other government bills and businesses.
