ELECTIONS Commission chairman Azhar Azizan Harun and Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said have been nominated to replace Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff and his deputy Nga Kor Ming, respectively.

The motion has already been submitted to Parliament.

Ariff said he could not provide more details on when the motion was submitted or by whom.

“It is better to get the details from the prime minister or the minister as I have no additional comments,” he told The Malaysian Insight in a WhatsApp message today.

On June 30, sources told TMI that Putrajaya had nominated Azhar to replace Mohamad Ariff.

It was learnt that Azhar, popularly known as Art Harun, had tendered his resignation a day earlier.

“He sent his resignation in, but it will be up to Parliament to debate his nomination when it sits on July 13,” a source said.

“It could go either way but Perikatan Nasional has the majority to push the nomination through,” another source said.

Azhar has yet to clarify news reports that he had resigned from the EC to take up the new position as Speaker.

By convention, lawmakers are given 14 days to nominate a new speaker when the post becomes vacant. If more than one candidate is proposed, it will be decided through a vote.

Azhar was appointed by the previous Pakatan Harapan government to head the EC after the historic 2018 general election that ended Barisan Nasional’s rule since 1974.

The Kedahan, 58, has developed a reputation as a human rights lawyer and a writer over the past decade.

Muhyiddin submitted a motion to replace Ariff and his deputy Nga Kor Ming, on June 26.

Batu Pahat MP Mohd Rashid Hasnon, who is the other deputy speaker, is not affected by the nominations to top jobs in the legislature.

The prime minister is expected to table the motion on the first day of the sitting on July 13.

Nga is a DAP lawmaker, while Ariff is a retired judge and has been lauded by both sides for pushing through parliamentary reforms since coming to office in 2018. – July 6, 2020.