Rais Yatim elected new Dewan Negara president
PARLIAMENT | Dewan Negara has elected Bersatu senator Rais Yatim as its new president.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had nominated Rais for the post despite opposition senators calling for the premier to reconsider the decision...
PARLIAMENT | Dewan Negara has elected Bersatu senator Rais Yatim as its new president.
This despite an opposition attempt to block his candidacy, citing that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was not a member of the Upper House and thus could not nominate Rais for the post.
A total of 45 senators out of 65 voted for him in the ballot, while 19 senators voted for PKR senator Yusmadi Yusoff with one senator absent.
Umno reportedly disagreed with Muhyiddin's choice of candidate and submitted its own candidate.
However, the Dewan Negara sitting which commenced today saw senators from both sides only choosing between Rais and Yusmadi. Umno's candidate for the presidency was not brought up.
Meanwhile, Pejuang senator Marzuki Yahya who had nominated Warisan senator Theodore Douglas Lind for the post said the latter withdrew from the election.
Earlier, DAP senator Nga Hock Cheh tried to block the presidential candidate proposed by Muhyiddin, citing that the prime minister was not a member of the Upper House and, therefore, not eligible to name a candidate.
"With due respect, in my debate, I request the nomination by the prime minister to be rejected.
"I urge senator Yusmadi to be declared as the new president of the Dewan Negara unopposed," Nga said.
Upper House deputy president Abd Halim Abd Samad turned down Nga's request, saying that Muhyiddin, as head of the legislative council, had the right to name a candidate.
De facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan echoed Halim's response, saying that the prime minister indeed had the right to name his candidate.
Rais, who replaced SA Vigneswaran, whose term expired in June, later took his oath before Halim.
Rais' first chairing of Dewan Negara
In his first chairing of the sitting, Rais briefly touched on the senators who opposed his nomination.
"Every time a prime minister in power presents his candidate (for the Dewan Negara president post), there were no objections, except today.
"Even if that is our view, it doesn't mean we cannot be united. Even if that is our stand, it doesn't mean we cannot continue our struggle," said Rais.
He then called on the Dewan Negara members to protect the Federal Constitution and perform their duties regardless of their background or how they felt.
"Shift our focus back to the Federal Constitution and our sworn oaths which are our joint responsibilities as senators," Rais said.
He urged the Upper House to excel in parliamentary affairs, including enhancing the performance of parliamentary committees.
Rais also advocated for the revival of the Parliamentary Services Bill which would ensure the autonomy of the legislative branch and promote separation of powers.
In October 2015, lawmakers on both sides called for the bill to be reinstated.
Report this comment
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.