KUALA LUMPUR: Former Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul has been elected as the new Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
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The PKR man takes over from Azhar Harun, who officially stepped down yesterday.
Johari had been nominated by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, while opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin had nominated Radzi Sheikh Ahmad for the post.
Johari received 147 votes, while Radzi obtained 74 votes. The total is one short of the 222 MPs in the lower house.
According to Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong, deputy economic affairs minister Hanifah Hajar Taib was absent for the vote.
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However, she was present to take her oath of office as the Mukah MP.
Johari had opted out of the recent general election and vacated his Gurun state seat in Kedah as of last Tuesday.
Azhar, a former Election Commission (EC) chief and a lawyer by profession, was appointed Speaker in July 2020, four months after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government following the infamous Sheraton Move.
It was reported that he had turned down Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) offer to re-nominate him for the post.-FMT