Omar Jaafar elected speaker of Malacca state assembly

MALACCA: The former chairman of Malacca PKR Omar Jaafar was today elected Speaker of 14th Malacca State Assembly after garnering the most votes from members of the assembly.
Omar, 77, a former teacher, takes over from Datuk Othman Muhamad, 66, who retired after serving as Malacca State Assembly Speaker for two terms.
The proposal was made by Chief Minister Adly Zahari (Amanah-Bukit Katil) and supported by Tey Kok Kiew (DAP-Bandar Hilir), with Omar getting 15 votes from the Malacca state assemblymen, one opposed and 11 abstained.
Earlier, when the proposal was made, Zaidi Atan (BN-Serkam) stood up to ask for an explanation regarding a police report of a case involving the possession of firearms in a public place involving Omar in Jasin near here in 2001.
Adly replied that Omar was selected after a comprehensive assessment was made, including a check into his background.
Meanwhile, Dr Wong Fort Pin (DAP-Bemban) was elected Deputy Speaker of the Malacca State Assembly after a proposal was made by Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen (PPBM-Paya Rumput) and supported by Ginie Lim Siew Lin (PKR-Machap Jaya).
At the sitting, 27 Malacca state assemblymen took their oaths in Omar's presence, while former Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron (BN-Sungai Udang) was absent with consent.
In his speech later, Omar said he would perform his duties fairly, giving opportunities to the people's representatives from both the government and the opposition
"All have to abide by the laws of the state constitution when participating in the sessions. I hope that in future sittings, all the representatives perform their responsibilities as best as they can so that the assembly is conducted in a proper and harmonious manner," he said. — Bernama