Report: Umno’s Puad Zakarshi likely to be named Johor Speaker today, Samsolbari Jamali as his deputy

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 ― Datuk Mohd Puad Zakarshi, a first-term Rengit assemblyman, is likely to be sworn-in as the Johor state Speaker.

Johor Umno secretary and Semarang assemblyman Datuk Samsolbari Jamali is expected to be named as his deputy, The Star reported today, quoting a source.

The report said, however, that Samsolbari played down his chances of being appointed deputy Speaker when contacted.

“I don’t know. Let’s just wait for the ceremony,” he was quoted as saying.

Puad, 64, who is also an Umno supreme council member, is among the most senior political leaders in the state and the frontrunner for the post.

A special state assembly sitting for the swearing in of all 56 Johor assemblymen is to take place today at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar.

The special sitting will also see the appointment of a new Speaker and deputy Speaker following the dissolution of the previous state assembly in January.

The two posts were previously held by Suhaizan Kaiat and Gan Peck Cheng respectively.

The report also said that former Rengit assemblyman Ayub Jamil and Sri Medan assemblyman Datuk Zulkurnain Kamisan were among the candidates for the state Speaker post.

Puad’s appointment as the state Speaker could undo the previous practice where the person appointed as the Speaker was not from among the assemblymen coming from the government bloc.

The position of deputy Speaker, on the other hand, was usually reserved for the most senior government assemblyman.

According to a source, the selection of the new Speaker was to enable all elected representatives from the government side to vote if any motion is tabled, which requires the majority support of the assembly for it to be approved.

“Following Barisan Nasional’s big win of 40 seats in the Johor election, the matter is unlikely to affect any voting session,” the source was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan, which won 13 seats in the state election, has named state DAP chairman Liew Chin Tong as the new Johor Opposition chief.