PAKATAN Harapan will take legal action over the election of Malacca Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh as state assembly speaker.

Former state executive councillor Mohd Sofi Abdul Wahab said Rauf’s appointment today was done by Perikatan Nasional assemblymen who voted among themselves without any opposition lawmakers present, and while the house had not been in session.

Sofi, the Durian Tunggal assemblyman, said the PN lawmakers had continued the sitting even after speaker Omar Jaafar had adjourned it this morning.

“When the speaker adjourns the sitting, they shouldn’t continue with it. It is an illegal sitting.

“We are planning legal action to challenge their move. We will make a further announcement about this tomorrow,” Sofi told The Malaysian Insight.

Rauf’s appointment followed a chaotic morning at the state assembly, which saw assemblymen quarrelling after PH-aligned speaker, Omar, rejected a motion to vote him out.

He adjourned the meeting, but PN representatives reconvened without their PH peers present.

Rauf was made speaker with 16 votes out of the assembly’s 28 reps.

Before that, pandemonium broke out when Idris Haron, who holds the Sg Udang seat for Umno, shouted at Omar for rejecting a motion to vote the latter out.

Idris lashed out as Omar was opening the sitting with a prayer recital.

PH assemblymen shouted back, demanding respect for the speaker and for the prayer to proceed.

The motion to replace Omar was tabled by Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali, who is also Umno’s Lendu rep.

PN controls the assembly after the PH state government’s fall on March 2, following the defection of two assemblymen. – May 11, 2020.