Penang assemblymen take oath of office

Penang's 40 assemblymen took their oath of office today at the state legislative assembly. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng led the swearing-in, followed by Deputy Chief Minister I Mohd Rashid Hasnon, Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy, the 10 state executive councillors and the rest of the assemblymen. Opposition Leader Datuk Jahara Abdul Hamid and the nine other Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblymen also took their oath of office before the newly elected speaker Law Choo Kiang. Law, who is the assemblyman for Bukit Tambun, advised all assemblymen to do their homework prior to attending the sitting of the assembly next week. "I hope the assemblymen will engage in less political debate. There are many laws and enactments on which they can debate," he told reporters after the swearing-in ceremony. In the 13th general election on May 5, the Pakatan Rakyat pact of DAP, PAS and PKR won 30 of the 40 seats in the state. The DAP retained its 19 seats, PAS its only seat of Permatang Pasir while PKR won one more seat to secure 10. Umno won 10 seats for the BN.