The Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (, Jawi: ) is the highest-ranking presiding officer of the

Dewan Rakyat The Dewan Rakyat (; Jawi script, Jawi: ), is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Malaysia, Parliament which is the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitu ...

, the lower house of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. They are responsible for convening sessions of the Dewan Rakyat, organising debates, and examining the admissibility of petitions, bills, and amendments. In the absence of the Speaker, one of their deputies will take their place."Malaysia"
Retrieved Dec. 10, 2005. The current speaker is

Johari Abdul Johari bin Abdul (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: جوهري بن عبد; born 25 May 1955) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 11th Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat since December 2022. Previously, he served as the State Leader of the Opposition ...

. He was elected on 19 December 2022 for the 15th Malaysian Parliament.

Functions

The Speaker determines when a sitting of the House should open and close, and may suspend the sitting for a brief period of time if necessary. He is also in charge of ensuring the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

and Standing Orders of the House are given due respect; disciplining members of the House; determining who shall have the floor during a sitting; calling a vote; and checking for a

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

when the House meets. He only participates in a vote when there is a tie. The Speaker also has powers some allege to be excessive, such as imposing limits on the posing of supplementary questions during Question Time — an important procedure for the legislature to examine the government's actions — the power to restrict the tabling of questions for Question Time, and the power to amend written copies of speeches made by members of the House before they are given verbally."Malaysia"
Retrieved Feb. 12, 2006.

Speaker election

The Speaker is elected to a term that lasts for the length of the term of the Dewan Rakyat that elected him. His term ends when the House is dissolved and a general election is called. He is elected when the House meets for the first time after a general election by the members of the House, who are called MPs. Any MP is qualified to be the Speaker of the House, but non-MPs who meet the same qualifications required to be an MP are also eligible for election as Speaker. A candidate for Speaker must be nominated and seconded by at least two MPs other than himself. This nomination process must be conducted at least 14 days before the election of the Speaker. If only one candidate meets these conditions, he is automatically elected Speaker; otherwise, voting by

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

is conducted, with the winner decided by a simple majority. Two deputy Speakers are elected in a similar manner. The

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

Functions

Speaker election

List of speakers of the Dewan Rakyat

Election results

See also

Notes and references