Kedah senators sworn in

The Star (26/5/08): Two first-time senators from the opposition-led Kedah state assembly took their oath at the Dewan Negara on Monday.

PAS state secretary Muhamad Yusof Husin, 54, and Kedah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chairman Zamri Yusof, 43, were fielded to replace Datuk Yaakob Mohamad from Umno and Chua Khim Chuan from MCA, whose terms expired on April 10.

Muhamad said he would play his role to bridge the gap between the federal and state governments.

Senate secretary Datuk Zamani Sulaiman said there were now 58 members of the Senate, with three vacancies from Kelantan, Malacca and Johor yet to be filled.

New MPs take oath in Parliament

Malaysiakini (28/5/08): Newly elected lawmakers took oath of office in parliament today after March 8 general elections which changed the political landscape.

The election saw unprecedented gains by a resurgent opposition, led by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who formed an alliance to challenge Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Barisan Nasional coalition.

Abdullah's coalition has ruled Malaysia for more than half a century since the former colony gained independence from Britain but its showing in March was the worst in Barisan Nasional's history.

The Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance claimed more than a third of parliamentary seats and five states in the polls, putting Abdullah under heavy pressure with calls from within his party to quit.

Abdullah was the first one to be sworn in parliament, followed by his deputy Najib Razak and other cabinet ministers.

"I, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, being chosen as a member of parliament, vow to honestly fulfil my obligations with all my strength.

"I pledge my true loyalty to Malaysia and vow to preserve, protect and defend the constitution," Abdullah, who wore a black and gold traditional Malay outfit, said (Full story).

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New Malaysia parliament sworn in

Al Jazeera (28/4/08): Members of Malaysia's new parliament have been formally sworn into office, bringing the biggest opposition presence to the national legislature in more than four decades.

The first 16-day session of new parliament opens on Tuesday and will be keenly watched for signs of possible defections by members of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition to the opposition.

The coalition suffered unprecedented losses in the March 8 elections after the opposition wrested control of five states and denied the government its long-held two-thirds parliamentary majority.

The opposition gained over one-third of the 222 seats in the lower house of parliament [Reuters]

For the first time in Malaysia's history, a woman, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, president of the Keadilan party, will sit as the lead of the opposition in parliament.

She is the wife of Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister and de facto leader of Malaysia's loose opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat.

Abdullah is resisting pressure to quit over the election results [Reuters]

Anwar, who was barred from running for office until a legal ban expired on April 14, has claimed he has the support of 30 BN MPs - enough to bring down the government.

The new parliament also includes a record 24 women MPs, including 10 opposition representatives.

Among those sworn in on Monday was Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the prime minister, along with members of his cabinet.

Abdullah has come under pressure to resign from his post following the coalition's dismal election performance.

Several key leaders in the United National Malays Organisation, the main partner in the ruling coalition, have warned Abdullah that he would lose if he stood for re-election as the party's president later this year.

Nearly two months after the general elections, there have also been signs of possible strains between the BN-run federal government and the newly opposition-controlled states, including the reported shelving of major projects infrastructure projects in Penang and Selangor, the two most developed states now under opposition control.

The federal government has denied claims that it is punishing voters for supporting the opposition and sabotaging development efforts by the new governments.

MPs to be sworn in on April 28

NST (28/4/08): The 222 newly-elected members of parliament will be sworn in on April 28, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said yesterday.

Yang di-Pertuan Agung Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin will open both houses of parliament on April 29.

Nazri told the New Straits Times that the Dewan Rakyat will sit for 16 days.

He said notices were being prepared to be sent to the MPs.

Nazri said the three opposition parties -- DAP, Pas and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) -- will also have their own offices in the parliament complex.

Previously, only a single office was provided for the opposition.

Another change will see the establishment of between 16 and 20 functional offices for the various cabinet portfolios and their ministers.

"This will be their office when parliament is in session," he said, adding that this would also enable the ministers to attend the parliament sessions.

On the seating arrangement in the Dewan Rakyat, which will see a drastic change this time compared with previous parliaments, Nazri said it was still being finalised.

The seating arrangement in the Dewan Rakyat is in the form of a horse shoe comprising eight blocks.

In the 12th general election, BN won 140 seats, PKR 31, DAP 28 and Pas 23 seats.

The opposition will occupy three-and-a-half blocks, with the remainder going to the BN.

A day of firsts in parliament

NST (28/4/2008): The curtains go up on a much-anticipated 12th parliament when its first session begins today.

After members of parliament take their oath of office this morning, parliament begins its first sitting of 16 days.

For the second time in its history, Barisan Nasional will be without a two-thirds majority.

The first sitting of the first session is much anticipated because of many firsts and also rumours that the ruling coalition's MPs are waiting for "a signal" to cross the floor to Pakatan Rakyat.

Whether there's any truth to the rumours, or mere political gamesmanship by de facto Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, is to be seen.
There are several historic firsts for parliament.

One: There will be a daily 30-minute live telecast of the question hour.

Information Minister Datuk Shabery Cheek promises more coverage if response is good.

Two: Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will be the first woman opposition leader.

Three: Two chief ministers of opposition-controlled states - Penang's Lim Guan Eng and Selangor's Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim - are members and both are expected to attend regularly as MPs and, of course, raise the house temperature.

Four: The speaker and his two deputies will be from Sabah and Sarawak.

Five: There will be a record 24 women MPs, with 10 from the opposition.

Six: Both the MCA president and Umno Wanita chief are not in the cabinet while the MIC and Gerakan leaders are not members of Dewan Rakyat.

Seven: There will be a record number of Indian MPs, 10.

Eight: A record 99 first-time MPs.

The firsts aside, daily house proceedings will likely be dominated by opposition veterans like Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Barat), Lim Guan Eng (Bagan), Karpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor), Chong Eng (Bukit Mertajam), M. Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat), Datuk Seri Hadi Awang (Marang), Nasharuddin Mat Isa (Bachok), Mahfuz Omar (Pokok Sena), Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju) and Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Pasir Mas).

The opposition newcomers who are expected to sizzle include Azmin Ali (Gombak), R. Sivarasa (Subang), Tian Chua (Batu), Gobind Singh (Puchong) and Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (Machang).

BN can count on its old hands like the irrepressible Datuk Mohamad Aziz (Sri Gading) and Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (Kinabatangan) and steady hands Datuk Nur Jazlan (Pulai) and Datuk Razali Ibrahim (Muar) to lead its vocal charge in the dewan.

Former ministers who are now backbenchers like Datuk Jamaluddin Jarjis (Rompin), Datuk Azmi Khalid (Padang Besar), Datuk Ong Ka Ting (Kulai) and Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz (Kuala Kangsar) will ensure that the 82-member strong opposition will not have it all its way.

Newcomers on the BN side expected to drive the BN agenda hard in the house include Khairy Jamaluddin (Rembau), Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi (Batu Pahat), Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir (Jerlun) and Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (Pasir Salak).

What does this new house arithmetic add up to for BN in terms of legislation?

BN can pass legislation without any opposition support as only a simple majority is needed to pass a bill.

However, it will need the support of the opposition if it wants to amend the constitution and chances are, unless absolutely necessary, BN will go the whole five years without attempting any constitutional changes.

So when the curtain goes up at 10am today, it will set the stage for colour, drama, action and a lot of shouting in the next two weeks.

But with 140 members versus 82 for the opposition, the ruling coalition can count on sheer numbers to impose its will in Dewan Rakyat.