KUCHING, Feb 11: There is no need for the Deputy Speaker to have a legal background when the Speaker Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia is a lawyer himself and is assisted by many legal brains in the Legislature, said Voon Lee Shan.
The Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president said the practice of appointing lawyers as Speakers and Deputy Speakers would deprive opportunities for other elected representatives.
To claim that only lawyers are suitable to be Speakers, he asserted, is unfair to other assemblymen.
“This is because they are equally eligible to sit as Speakers and Deputy Speakers and should not be sidelined.
“This shows as treating lawyers a class above others in the society.
“Such a policy will set a dangerous trend in our democracy if we treat lawyers as a class above others when it comes to selecting suitable and competent persons to hold key posts in the government and the Cabinet,” he said in a statement today.
Many Speakers in the past, Voon pointed out, were not lawyers, including Datuk Song Swee Guan, Datuk Jacob Ridu, and Datuk Celestine Ujang. However, they all performed well with impartiality to the public’s liking.
This afternoon, Muara Tuang assemblyman Datuk Idris Buang was sworn in as Deputy Speaker, taking over from Mulu assemblyman Datuk Gerawat Gala. Both of them are lawyers by profession. — DayakDaily
