Rais Yatim is new Dewan Negara president

(FMT) – PPBM’s Rais Yatim has been appointed the new Dewan Negara president.

The choice of Rais, a former federal minister, was done through a vote as more than one name was submitted for the post, vacated by MIC’s S Vigneswaran, who has retired.

Deputy Dewan Negara president Abdul Halim Abd Samad announced Rais’ appointment after he garnered 45 votes against PKR’s Yusmadi Yusoff, who received 19 votes.

The motion to nominate Rais came from Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and was read out by de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan.

Rais was the government’s sole nomination, while opposition representatives nominated Yusmadi and Theodore Douglas Lind.

PKR’s Ahmad Azam Hamzah nominated Yusmadi while Marzuki Yahya, who is a member of Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s new party Pejuang, nominated Lind.

But Lind’ nomination was withdrawn when he refused to be nominated.

Before the voting began, there was an uproar in the Dewan Negara when opposition senators opposed Rais’ nomination.

“The prime minister is not a member of the senate, the nomination from the prime minister should be rejected. By right, the nomination should come from senators,” said Mohamad Imran Abdul Hamid.