AZALINA Othman Said’s resignation as the deputy speaker of the Dewan Rakyat paves the way for newly minted prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to implement parliamentary and institutional reforms, Lim Kit Siang said today.

The veteran DAP lawmaker said this opens up the opportunity for a deputy speaker to be selected from the opposition bloc.

“The resignation of Azalina Othman Said as parliamentary deputy speaker opens the way for far-reaching parliamentary reforms where a deputy speaker comes from the opposition.

“But this must be part of major parliamentary and institutional reforms which the new prime minister must commit himself to carry out,” he said in a statement. 

 Azalina announced her resignation yesterday, saying she hoped it would provide an opportunity for the government and the opposition to “reset” the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting in September.

Lim, who is the MP for Iskandar Puteri, said that Ismail must be open to criticisms and suggestions from medical groups to accelerate vaccination and implement new policies to bring down the number of Covid-19 deaths, adding that the new prime minister has a tough road ahead to solve the political and health crises facing the nation.

To put an end to the political crisis in the country, Lim said Malaysia has to return to the principles enshrined in the constitution, such as a constitutional monarchy based on parliamentary democracy, separation of powers, the rule of law, as well as upholding good governance and human rights. – August 24, 2021.