This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 17, 2018 - July 23, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The opening of the historic 14th Parliament, which marks the first change of government for the country, was marred by a walkout by Barisan Nasional (BN) and PAS members of parliament (MPs), protesting that the election of the Speaker did not follow procedure.

The disruption took place soon after the House had convened and proceeded with the business of electing Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof as the new Speaker after he was nominated by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, seconded by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

There were no other nominations.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is the MP for Bagan Datuk, told the press the nomination by the Pakatan Harapan government of the former Court of Appeal judge as the Speaker did not adhere to the required 14-day notice for the nomination.

He said the opposition had adequate proof that the notice for nomination did not meet the 14-day requirement.

The commotion began when Kota Bharu MP Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan tried to interrupt Dewan Rakyat secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah’s move to call on Dr Mahathir to announce the appointment of Mohamad Ariff, but he was ignored.

As Dr Mahathir moved on to make the announcement, opposition MPs from both Barisan Nasional and PAS left the Dewan Rakyat hall and called for a press conference to state their stand.

However, Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin, former foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, and former Puteri Umno chief Datuk Mas Ermieyati Shamsudin, who is now an independent after leaving Umno, remained in the House.

Takiyuddin, in a joint press conference with Umno president Ahmad Zahid, said the procedure to appoint Mohamad Ariff was against the Dewan Rakyat Standing Order Section 4(1), which requires the candidate for Speaker to be submitted 14 days before the appointment.

“We are not against the candidate, but the procedure of appointing him. What if someone argued against the procedure of the appointment today at the Federal Court? That would be a disgrace to the country, because the whole world is watching us,” Takiyuddin said.

Earlier in the Dewan Rakyat, Roosme said Dr Mahathir had submitted the nominated Speaker’s name to her on July 2.

Dr Mahathir described the walkout as a “sandiwara”, or drama.

“That is ‘sandiwara’, they were acting. For the first time the former prime minister walked out, so now he knows how it is like when people walk out of the hall,” he told reporters after lunch at Parliament.

Dr Mahathir also said the government was practical-minded in nominating Mohamad Ariff as the Speaker although it is not according to Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto, which promised that the Dewan Rakyat Speaker would be an MP.

“Please remember the manifesto is not a bible; it is a [guide]. Sometimes we can do certain things, sometimes we find that we cannot, so we have to be practical-minded. But I think the public likes to have somebody who is not related to any party,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after being sworn in, Khairy said: “We must respect the House and the oath-taking ceremony. It’s better to respect the event and not make any move that would mar BN’s image to show that we are an opposition with integrity.”  

The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement the choice of Mohamad Ariff  as the new Speaker was aimed at bringing about parliamentary reform, reported Bernama.