By Suhaila Shahrul Annuar
SHAH ALAM, July 25 — Appointing a non-elected representative as a Selangor state assembly Speaker may be unconventional, but it does not infringe the constitution, said Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
This is in response to DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook’s statement yesterday that the party is proposing its incumbent Banting assemblyman Lau Weng San, who will sit out the upcoming state election, as the next Selangor Speaker, in the event of a Harapan victory.
Amirudin, who is Selangor Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) chairman, however said any decision on the matter will be decided via a consensus among all parties aligned with the Unity Government.
"I don't see any issue with such appointments, but they will be decided through consensus, if we win (the state election)," he said.
Amirudin then gave examples of the appointments of Suhaizan Kayat (former Johor state assembly Speaker) and Datuk Omar Jaafar (former Melaka state assembly Speaker), both of whom were not elected representatives.
Another example is Perlis PAS’ Rus'sele Eizan, who was appointed to the position in December last year despite not being an assembly member.
In a press conference to announce DAP’s candidates for the Selangor election yesterday, Loke had said that Lau has been proposed as state Speaker, despite him not contesting in the poll.
He said this was the condition given to Harapan’s top leadership in return for his party giving up its Dusun Tua seat to Barisan Nasional (BN).
He added that Harapan chairman and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has agreed to the condition.
Previously, Loke had been quoted as expressing his disappointment at Anwar’s decision to give the Dusun Tua seat to BN, but said the party weill abide by the decision.
In the 2018 election, DAP’s Edry Faizal Eddy Yusof won the Dusun Tua constituency with a majority of 10,422 votes.
However, BN has announced that Umno’s Datuk Johan Abd Aziz will be vying for the seat for the coming polls.
