MB: We will get votes from opposition
KUALA LUMPUR: The dispute over the appointment of the Kedah assembly speaker is expected to be resolved soon as Pakatan Harapan is confident of getting votes from the opposition.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said the names of candidates for the position of speaker and deputy speaker were submitted to the Assembly Secretariat’s office on Sunday.
“InsyaAllah, we will get more than 18 votes. Wait and see,” he said at the Dewan Rakyat briefing for the 14th Parliament of Malaysia here yesterday.
Mukhriz was commenting on the ongoing dispute that saw Pas calling for its candidate to be given priority for the position based on the amount of seats won by the party in the 14th General Election (GE14).
In GE14, Kedah Pas won 15 state seats, Barisan Nasional, three, and PH, 18.
Elaborating on PH’s right to determine who should be appointed as speaker, Mukhriz said Pas had voiced its intention to appoint someone who was not a state representative. This had led to the dispute.
“Imagine if PH accepted Pas’ speaker nominee, an individual who is not an assemblyman, the opposition would then be able to increase its vote count in the state assembly to 19, which is more than the state government’s.
“It is not possible for us to accept this and I have voiced out this matter to Pas. It is impossible for the state government to have fewer seats than the opposition.”
Mukhriz was confident that the dispute could be resolved peacefully with support from a majority of the assemblymen come July 4.