MUHYIDDIN Yassin should not oust Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Yusof, said Pakatan Harapan.

Ariff retired from party politics after the last elections in 2018 and was instrumental in restoring confidence towards parliamentary democracy, said the opposition.

“From the formation of select committee to creating an all-party parliamentary group, Ariff has a proven track record of reforming Parliament,” PH said in a statement today.

“As such, the Pakatan MPs are giving their full support for Ariff and Deputy Speaker Nga Kor Ming to remain and we protest against efforts to replace them.”

The statement was signed by PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Amanah’s Dr Hatta Ramli and DAP’s Anthony Loke.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin last week put in a motion to replace Ariff and Nga.

This comes after Ariff had accepted former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s motion of no confidence against Muhyiddin on May 18. 

Following that, Putrajaya also replaced Dewan Rakyat secretary Riduan Rahmat, who had just taken over from former secretary Roosme Hamzah on February 22.

The Malaysian Insight reported last week that Muhyiddin is set to nominate Election Commission chairman Azhar Azizan Harun as the new speaker. – July 2, 2020.