Johor sets new trend on ruler's order - opposition to be called 'balancer'

JOHOR DUN | Departing from the global norm, Johor has set a new trend as far as political terminology is concerned.

Opposition members in the state legislative assembly would now be referred to as “balancers” to underscore their role in holding the government accountable.

According to Bernama, speaker Mohd Puad Zarkashi announced this decision, which is in line with the state ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar’s (above) order, before the question and answer session this morning.

"As how it was initiated by Machap assemblyperson (Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi) yesterday, we will use the term ‘balancer’ which is more noble, more accurate, more comprehensive and futuristic to create a more authoritative state legislative assembly.

"Thank you, Tuanku," he said at the First Meeting of the Second Session of the 15th Johor state assembly.

At the opening ceremony last week, Sultan Ibrahim said opposition representatives in Johor should be called pihak pengimbang (balancer) instead of pihak pembangkang (opposition).

He said this is because the opposition members of the House play the role of check and balance to ensure the government is on the right track.

According to the ruler, the term “opposition” is inappropriate because their role is not just to oppose all government proposals.

Sultan Ibrahim said they need to do checks and balances to ensure that the government does not act as it pleases.

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