Chaos: PN reconvenes Malacca assembly without opposition, installs own speaker

Perikatan Nasional (PN) representatives today reconvened the Malacca state assembly sitting during the absence of opposition assemblypersons and voted in state Umno liaison chief Ab Rauf Yusoh as the new Speaker.

This happened barely an hour after the sitting was adjourned by Speaker Omar Jaafar, who is aligned to Pakatan Harapan, following a heated argument over Omar's rejection of a motion to vote him out from the assembly.

According to government media journalists who are allowed to cover the sitting from inside a video-link room at the Seri Negeri Complex in Ayer Keroh, the sitting was reconvened with Ghazale Muhamad (Rim-Umno) as the acting speaker to initiate the voting process.

"A total of 16 assemblypersons voted in support of Rauf to become the new speaker," said one of the journalists inside.

For the record, only government media representatives were allowed inside the video room, while others were barred to cover the sitting.

At around 10am, Omar ordered for today's sitting to be postponed barely a half-hour after it started after a shouting match erupted between him, Idris Haron (Sungai Udang-Umno) and several Pakatan Harapan assemblypersons.