KUALA LUMPUR – Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Rais Yatim has panned the move to make Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun the middleman in the formation of the government.
“This is because Azhar’s role as speaker only begins when Parliament convenes.
“His role as the speaker goes with the dissolution, so what is his capacity in the matter? Not as a speaker but only an individual.
“It is unheard of that someone who held a speaker’s role becomes a middleman, and it has never been practised in any Commonwealth country. It sets a bad precedent,” he told Utusan Malaysia.
He said the best way forward is for the leaders of the top two coalitions to negotiate among themselves before meeting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, without the speaker’s involvement, as that position is not yet valid.
Meanwhile, Rais said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition should have the priority to form the federal government since it is the largest bloc with 82 of the total 222 parliamentary seats.
However, he does not discount that the fluid situation opens doors for Perikatan Nasional (PN) to slip in as it has the second biggest bloc with 73 seats.
“PH should have the opportunity first, followed by PN and its chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. This is because PH has more than 80 seats.
“With that, PH could rally support for it to form a government, and subsequently meet the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. But now, it is an open race and the Agong has the right to make a decision at his discretion which coalition has majority support.”
Yesterday, Azhar was ordered to get leaders from the respective coalitions and parties that have won the elections to inform Istana Negara of the numbers of seats via alliances that would help form the government.
In a statement, Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Seri Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah received the official results of the 15th general election from Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh yesterday.
“A name of a Dewan Rakyat member who has secured the support of the Dewan Rakyat members, following the coalition of political parties, is to be presented as a prime minister candidate to Istana Negara by 2pm tomorrow (today),” he said.
In line with articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a) of the federal constitution, Fadil also said that the order of consent and His Majesty’s decision regarding the formation of a new government and appointment of prime minister through the said process is final.
The race to Putrajaya remains open as no coalition or party won 112 seats, which is the simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
After the tallying of votes over the weekend, PH and its partners have won 82 seats, followed by PN’s 73, BN (30), GPS (22), GRS (six), Warisan (three), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (one), Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (one), and two independents.
Meanwhile, the election of the Padang Serai seat will be held on December 7 following the sudden death of PH’s candidate and incumbent M. Karupaiya on November 16, three days before polling day. – The Vibes
