In Malaysia, government considers constitutional amendment to increase deputy speaker posts from two to three

The much-anticipated election of a Deputy Speaker in the Malaysian Parliament has been postponed, to make way for the government to amend the federal Constitution to create a third post. The election was postponed to the next Parliament meeting, when Budget 2022 will be tabled in October. "Our reason for suspending the appointment of the Deputy Speaker is that we want to table amendments to the Article 57(1)(b) to allow for the appointment of Deputy Speakers to be increased from two to three," said Malaysia's Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar when tabling the motion on Tuesday (Sept 14). "The Constitution doesn't say who will be the Deputy Speaker... We will create a rule maybe, so that one of the Speakers is from the opposition," he said. Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi added that the matter has been discussed with the Attorney-General, with the government hoping that it will be approved in October. However, the delay was questioned by several lawmakers from the Pakatan Harapan (PH) bloc who said that the election should be expedited instead.
Read the full article here: The Straits Times