There were no surprises in Parliament this morning when former Perak Menteri Besar Ramli Ngah Talib was elected Dewan Rakyat Speaker, easily beating DAP deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw with a overwhelming majority.

The post fell vacant following the death of Mohamed Zahir Ismail on Oct 14 after serving for 22 years.

Ramli, a lawyer and a two-term Pasir Salak MP, was elected through balloting when the Dewan Rakyat reconvened today after taking a recess during the Muslim fasting month.

Ramli was a clear favourite for the post as BN members exercise sweeping control of the House.

Nevertheless, the opposition DAP gave a fight by nominating Kepong MP Tan for the post. The cabinet and the government backbenchers had endorsed Ramli for the post.

20-minute ballot

When sitting convened today, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak moved a motion to elect the Speaker and informed the House of Ramli's candidacy from the ruling Barisan Nasional.

The motion was seconded by MCA president Ong Ka Ting, who is also the housing and local government minister.

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang proposed Tan as the opposition's choice for the post and was seconded by Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran.

Dewan Rakyat secretary Abdullah Wahid conducted the 20-minute election, which was done in a secret ballot.

Abdullah declared Ramli, who garnered 185 votes, as the House Speaker at 10.40am.

Tan, a dermatologist, received all the 10 votes from his colleagues in his party, which has 12 seats in Parliament.