The government has nominated Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan as the sole candidate for the new Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat after the position was left vacant following Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said’s resignation.
According to Astro Awani, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said that the Pontian MP is the only candidate from the government bloc as the Opposition will not be given a chance to nominate any candidates for the post.
“There are rumours that the opposition is trying to nominate Nga Kor Ming, but we feel that the post of Deputy Speaker is still needed from the government bloc,” he said.
“The opposition can only talk smart, there needs to be balance and justice, but when Pakatan Harapan became the government, they did not appoint a deputy speaker from the opposition.”
Nazri then denied that Ahmad Maslan’s appointment as Deputy Speaker would have bad implications for the government as he had not been convicted of any offence.
“He has not been found guilty, he is just about to start the trial. In my opinion, as long as he has not been sentenced and is still a Member of Parliament, Ahmad can be appointed as Deputy Speaker,” he said.
On trial for money laundering and giving false statements
On 24 August, Ahmad Maslan pleaded not guilty to two charges of money laundering for failing to declare RM2 million received from Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) and giving a false statement to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
He made the confession after the charge was read before Judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, reported Astro Awani.
“I understand and I plead not guilty,” he said when asked if he understood the charges read against him.
The judge then set the case management date on 29 September.
Tajuddin supports the government’s choice of candidate
Ex-Prasarana chairman and current Pasir Salak MP, Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman has since voiced his support for the government’s choice of candidate, saying that Ahmad Maslan is a good candidate for Deputy Speaker because he is “brave” and will be able to control the situation in Parliament, reported Utusan.
“If Ahmad is appointed to fill the position of Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, I am confident he can do it. Because he is an active person in Parliament, his character is quite brave, he can control the situation, so we want people like this in Parliament,” he said.
“If you want to say he is in the ‘court cluster’, it is not fair for him because Ahmad Maslan has not been convicted. It’s tyranny towards a friend if he is not given the opportunity to serve just because of the ‘court cluster’ classification.”
The ‘court cluster’ refers to the group of Umno MPs standing trial for corruption following the collapse of the BN government, partly due to the 1MDB scandal.
DAP urges the government to consider Nga Kor Ming
Meanwhile, DAP has urged the government to consider Teluk Intan MP Nga Kor Ming to be re-appointed as Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, according to Sinar Harian.
Perak DAP secretary, Wong Kah Woh said, the post should be given to the opposition in an effort to ensure that the reform of Parliamentary institutions can be implemented well.
“Pakatan Harapan (PH) has nominated Kor Ming, the former Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat for 25 months during the PH government to return to the post,” he said.
“But when we heard Ahmad Maslan may be nominated as Deputy Speaker, it is a very sad development because we may lose a golden opportunity to strengthen the parliamentary institutions we have.”
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