Tengku Razaleigh requests seat be moved

KUALA LUMPUR: Gua Musang MP, Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, has requested for his seat in the Dewan Rakyat to be moved, on the grounds that he was placed in a group that suggested he was a government supporter.

In a letter sent to Dewan Rakyat Speaker, Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun, the UMNO assemblyman requested that he be transferred to a seat near the Independent bloc, which does not support the current government.

"I would like to respectfully inform you that I do not want to continue to be in the seat which has been prepared for me in the Dewan Rakyat along with other members, who are placed in groups as if they are supporters of the existing government.

"From the beginning, I have never supported or been with the government that was formed using the name of the Perikatan Nasional government," he said in a letter dated July 26 (yesterday).

Meanwhile Azhar, in a media statement today, confirmed receiving the letter.

"As the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, I took note of the decision of the Gua Musang MP, and have instructed the Secretary of the Dewan Rakyat to take appropriate action," he said.

Meanwhile, in a different statement, Azhar denied a report by a news portal that reported that he did not allow the application by four UMNO MPs to move their existing seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

"I strongly deny the news report and would like to state that I have never received any application from the MPs concerned.

"I think the news is a lie and slander against me," he said.

Earlier, a news portal reported that Bagan Datuk MP, who is also UMNO president, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and three other MPs, requested that their seats be moved.

-- BERNAMA