KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Amanah vice-chairman Suhaizan Kaiat took his oath of office as a Member of the Dewan Rakyat here today.

The swearing-in ceremony took place before the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Johari Abdul, before the resumption of the debate session of the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review (12MP MTR) today.

Suhaizan, 50, was sworn in after he won the Pulai parliamentary by-election on Sept 9.

Johari, in the ceremony, congratulated Suhaizan and hoped that the latter would be able to carry out his duties full of responsibility and serve with dedication and excellence.

"The Dewan Rakyat has the highest position in determining the laws of the country and provides check-and-balance to the executive branch to benefit the development of the country.

Johari also expressed confidence that Suhaizan will carry out his duties as a people's representative honourably as demanded by the institution.

In the by-election, Suhaizan Suhaizan won with a majority of 18,641 votes, defeating Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Zulkifli Jaafar and Independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi.

The Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections were called due to the unexpected vacancy of the seats, following the death of the incumbent, Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, who was also the Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, on July 23.

Meanwhile, former MP for Bachok Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, 53, took his oath of office as a senator before Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

The appointment of Nik Mohamad Abduh for the period from July 8, 2023, to July 7, 2026, is based on the election of Kelantan State Assembly member.

Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi when congratulating Nik Mohamad Abduh on his appointment as a senator, expressed his confidence that the latter would contribute to raising the quality of the debate on any motion tabled at the Dewan Negara.

"I suggest the honourable members of the Dewan Negara to be more proactive and creative in ensuring that their intellectual opinions are also communicated to the people through the mainstream media and social media.

"It is important for the people to know that the productive and creative opinions and inputs from the honourable members of the Dewan Negara play an important role in discussing and considering motions brought from the Dewan Rakyat," he said.

-- BERNAMA