Johor MP claims Parliament sitting on Monday will focus on removal of Dewan Rakyat’s speaker and deputy instead of current issues post Covid-19

JOHOR BARU, July 10 — Johor Baru MP Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir today claimed that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government will focus on the appointment of the new Dewan Rakyat speaker instead of discussing current issues faced by the people post Covid-19 during Monday's parliament sitting.

“This shows that PN has decided to choose their political interests instead.

“The coming Parliament sitting should discuss on issues faced by the people where their livelihood had been impacted during the movement control order (MCO),” said Akmal after presenting food to the homeless around the city centre.

He was responding to yesterday’s news report where the Election Commission (EC) confirmed that Datuk Azhar Azizan @ Harun has tendered his resignation as the commission’s chairman on June 29.

His resignation fuelled speculation that the next Parliament session will see Azhar and former Umno minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said nominated in a motion to replace current Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff and his deputy Nga Kor Ming.

Akmal, who is also the PKR Youth chief, said such an expected scenario will see Monday’s parliamentary sitting being a heated affair.

“They (PN) should instead look into the welfare and economy of the country as it has been more than six months since the last Parliament sitting and this would be the best opportunity for lawmakers to look into the long-awaited issues,” he said.

Earlier this week it was reported that Azhar and Azalina have been nominated in a motion to replace Mohamad Ariff and Nga.

The Order Paper listing debates and motions ahead of the Dewan Rakyat sitting on July 13 has included the motion by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to remove Ariff and Nga.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders in a joint statement last month criticised Muhyiddin’s bid to remove them from chairing Dewan Rakyat sittings.

A lawyer in profession, Azhar or better known as Art Harun was appointed the new chairman of EC in September 2018 after PH took over the government a few months prior.