Speaker Ramli gets BA votes
Beh Lih YiPublished: Nov 22, 2004 4:04 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
Members of Parliament from PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) broke ranks with their DAP counterparts today to vote in former Perak Menteri Besar Ramli Ngah Talib as the new Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.
Members of Parliament from PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) broke ranks with their DAP counterparts today to vote in former Perak Menteri Besar Ramli Ngah Talib as the new Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.
Ramli obtained 185 votes to beat DAP nominee Dr Tan Seng Giaw, who received 10 votes, in a secret ballot concluded at 10.35am.
DAP members of Parliament currently hold 12 seats, but two of them were not present this morning. All eight MPs from PAS and PKR were in the House.
Met later, Kamarudin Jaffar (PAS-Tumpat) did not want to confirm that PAS MPs had voted for Ramli but said reporters "can draw that conclusion".
PKR president and Permatang Pauh MP Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail declined to comment.
A PAS MP who requested anonymity said the party is unhappy with the DAP for not consulting it when nominating Tan.
Parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) admitted that he was caught by surprise with the election results which showed divided views among the opposition parties.
"It comes as a surprise. I had made a special point not to canvass for support (among the opposition MPs) for Tan as we think that it is an election of the Speaker and Tan should not be seen as an opposition candidate... it should not be a party decision," Lim told reporters.
35-minute process
The election was conducted when the sitting reconvened. The 35-minute session was chaired by Dewan Rakyat secretary Abdullah Abdul Wahab.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak moved the motion to elect the Speaker and informed the House of Ramli's candidacy by Barisan Nasional. The motion was seconded by Ong Ka Ting (BN-Tanjong Piai).
Lim proposed Tan as the opposition's choice and was seconded by M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat).
The situation turned chaotic a few times when Lim demanded adjournments to the process. He also questioned Ramli's candidacy, citing allegations of impropriety during the latter's tenure as the Perak menteri besar.
Lim cited the Standing Orders in arguing that the motion should not be tabled by Najib, since the notice of candidacy had been tabled in the name of the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Santiago.
The Speaker's post fell vacant with the death of Dr Mohamed Zahir Ismail on Oct 14. He had served for 22 years.
Ramli obtained 185 votes to beat DAP nominee Dr Tan Seng Giaw, who received 10 votes, in a secret ballot concluded at 10.35am. DAP members of Parliament currently hold 12 seats, but two of them were not present this morning. All eight MPs from PAS and PKR were in the House.
Met later, Kamarudin Jaffar (PAS-Tumpat) did not want to confirm that PAS MPs had voted for Ramli but said reporters "can draw that conclusion".
PKR president and Permatang Pauh MP Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail declined to comment.
A PAS MP who requested anonymity said the party is unhappy with the DAP for not consulting it when nominating Tan.
Parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) admitted that he was caught by surprise with the election results which showed divided views among the opposition parties.
"It comes as a surprise. I had made a special point not to canvass for support (among the opposition MPs) for Tan as we think that it is an election of the Speaker and Tan should not be seen as an opposition candidate... it should not be a party decision," Lim told reporters.
35-minute process
The election was conducted when the sitting reconvened. The 35-minute session was chaired by Dewan Rakyat secretary Abdullah Abdul Wahab.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak moved the motion to elect the Speaker and informed the House of Ramli's candidacy by Barisan Nasional. The motion was seconded by Ong Ka Ting (BN-Tanjong Piai).
Lim proposed Tan as the opposition's choice and was seconded by M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat).
The situation turned chaotic a few times when Lim demanded adjournments to the process. He also questioned Ramli's candidacy, citing allegations of impropriety during the latter's tenure as the Perak menteri besar.
Lim cited the Standing Orders in arguing that the motion should not be tabled by Najib, since the notice of candidacy had been tabled in the name of the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Santiago.The Speaker's post fell vacant with the death of Dr Mohamed Zahir Ismail on Oct 14. He had served for 22 years.
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