NAJIB Razak is no longer the head of Barisan Nasional. He is also no longer a national Umno leader.

So, where will the former prime minister sit on Monday, when Parliament convenes?

“Najib is different from past prime ministers. He is the first to be defeated in a general election, and also charged with criminal breach of trust,” said Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturer Dr Mazlan Ali.

Moreover, said Mazlan, Najib is no longer Umno president or its national leader, although the party seems to be defending him in the criminal case by organising a vigil and going on a fundraising exercise.

“But I think he’s likely to be in the second row.

“It would be odd if he were to be seated in the front row.”

International Islamic University Malaysia political science lecturer Dr Tunku Mohar Mohd Tunku Mokhtar also feels that the second row would most likely be Najib’s new place.

“The first line is normally reserved for senior Umno office-bearers, such as (president Ahmad) Zahid (Hamidi) and the deputy president and vice-presidents, although among them, only Mahdzir Khalid (Padang Terap) and Ismail Sabri Yaakob (Bera) are MPs.

“If Najib is placed in the second row, it means that Umno has reorganised its Parliament strategy.”

Traditionally, the first seat on the government bench – on the right side closest to the speaker – is taken up by the prime minister as the leader of the government and head of Parliament.

After the prime minister, the bench is filled by ministers according to the different portfolios, with the more important ones, such as home, finance, economic affairs and defence, in front.

On the opposition aisle – on the left side of the speaker – the first seat is for the opposition leader. This seat is expected to be taken up by former deputy prime minister Zahid.

According to parliamentary convention, the opposition’s seating order sees parties with the most number of representatives in front, followed by smaller parties.

Going by 14th general election results, the order should be BN (54), followed by Gabungan Parti Sarawak (19), PAS 18 and Parti Warisan Sabah (8).

Unlike the 12th and 13th Parliament sessions, Mazlan is not anticipating any MPs from PAS and the new GPS taking up front-row seats this time.

In the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat, there was an informal coalition of sorts, enabling the pact to request different seating arrangements.

“After losing several Sabah and Sarawak parties, BN has not arranged anything with other opposition parties yet. If we see PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang sitting next to Zahid, then the two parties could be cooperating in Parliament,” said the east coast politics researcher.

In 2013, there was a departure from the Parliament seating convention when Pakatan Rakyat made a special request to the Parliament office to seat the MPs differently.

Then Permatang Pauh MP Anwar Ibrahim, who was the opposition leader, sat at the head of the opposition aisle, followed by Hadi, and DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng. The other seats were allocated based on party seniority.

Mazlan said another interesting thing to look out for is where Umno will seat Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin.

“In the recent elections, Khairy received a substantial number of votes (61 divisions), and although Zahid (99) ultimately won, the younger leader cannot be dismissed.

“To acknowledge the support for Khairy within the party, he should be seated in the front row. His performance in the party polls showed that many want reform in Umno.”

He added that it would be good for BN to pit Khairy against Pakatan Harapan ministers and backbenchers who are relatively young. – July 14, 2018.