SHAH ALAM, 30 Mar: The Selangor State Assembly (DNS) does not recognise the Coordinator who serves as the successor to the Leader of the Opposition during the Assembly session, which is taking place now.

The DNS Speaker, Hannah Yeoh, said that in the Assembly provisions, it clearly states that only the Opposition Leader is accepted and plays the role as the leader for the opposition, which is now held by Barisan Nasional (BN).

However, BN’s refusal to name the individual to take up the position has caused the position to remain vacant after the Sungai Burung Assemblyman, Datuk Shamsuddin Lias, resigned.

“In the DNS, we indeed do not recognise the Coordinator because after we gave an allowance to the Opposition Leader, only the Opposition Leader is the official title.

“But the Selangor BN replied in a letter that they do not intend to appoint a Opposition leader and if there is anything that needs to be coordinated, they have a Coordinator,” she said during a press conference today.

It is understood that the Selangor BN appointed the Batang Kali Assemblyman, Mat Nadzari Ahmad Dahlan, as the Coordinator.

Hannah said that the State Government Public Accounts Committee (PAC) must be chaired by the Opposition Leader after the DNS resolved the matter in the drafting meeting in the last Assembly session.

She said that she hopes that an Opposition Leader is appointed to play the role of checks and balances in Selangor.

“The Opposition Leader is seen as a ‘government in waiting’. So, the coalition after the government is BN, which has 12 seats.

“In a debate, the Opposition leader is given the privilege to debate.

“We see no Opposition Leader, meaning that they (BN) are not ready to be the government again,” she said.

NS