There is no time limit to appoint a parliamentary Opposition Leader, Parliament Speaker Mohamed Zahir Ismail said today.

He said it was up to the opposition parties to choose from within their ranks whom they want to be the Opposition Leader in parliament. "There is no time frame for this", the Speaker emphasised.

He also clarified that although the House's standing orders provide for the post of an Opposition Leader, he or she may not necessarily be a member of the party with the biggest majority.

In 1995, DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Tanjung) was the Opposition Leader although PAS had the most members in the House.

Acording to Zahir, PAS offered the post to Lim as "they were courting each other then".

The new Opposition Leader may not even be announced during this session as Parliament will be adjourned on Thursday to September, and there will be no extensions, added Zahir.

Parliament was abuzz today with speculation of who will be the next Opposition Leader to replace the late PAS President Fadzil Noor (PAS-Pendang) who died yesterday.

PAS leaders were tight-lipped about who will be the "chosen one" but said there will be a meeting tonight to decide on the matter.

A source close to the party leadership expressed confidence that Terengganu Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang will be the new Opposition Leader.

Too busy

However, another source said that Hadi "may be too busy" to juggle his duties as acting president of the party, chief minister of a state and parliamentary Opposition Leader all at the same time.

The source speculated that a senior but less controversial leader like Mustafa Ali (PAS-Dungun), who is one of the party's vice-presidents, may be selected instead.

Barisan Nasional MPs felt Parliament needed someone as moderate as Fadzil, who had gained a reputation for being a "calm, moderate and good natured" Muslim leader.

Asked about his reputation as a radical Muslim leader as opposed to his predecessor Fadzil, and the possible reaction from the non-Muslim community if he were Opposition Leader, Hadi went on instead to say that the non-Muslim community in Kelantan and Terengganu viewed PAS positively.

"Those who are not in Kelantan and Terengganu get the right picture about the two states from the Chinese press like Sin Chew Jit Poh and China Press who have been reporting positively about us," he said.

"Therefore, their (non-Muslims) reaction would be positive," Hadi added.