Selangor BN needs to name a new Opposition Leader - Speaker

The composition of members in the Selangor Public Accounts Committee (PAC) according to the standing order of the State Assembly should be based on the ratio of parties represented by members in the assembly, Selangor State Assembly Speaker Hannah Yeoh Tseow Suan said yesterday.

She said former State Opposition leader Datuk Mohd Shamsuddin Lias claimed of unfair composition of members in the PAC and also that it did not reflect the real spirit of democracy.

"The composition that has been stipulated is that it should be based on the ratio of parties in the State Assembly, a practice also adopted by parliaments in several developed Commonwealth countries," she added.

Yeoh was commenting on Mohd Shamsuddin's resignation as the Opposition Leader in the Selangor State Assembly with immediate effect yesterday.

Shamsudin gave up the position because he did not want to serve as Chairman of the Selangor PAC, a mandatory duty of the Opposition Leader under a recent amendment to a standing order of the assembly.

He said the job was meaningless without an opposition majority in the committee.

Yeoh said the amendment to the State Assembly's standing order on an opposition member to be the PAC chairman was made in accordance with the practice of other developed countries.

She said it was also to serve as a 'check and balance' in the state government's administration.

"If there is a situation where a PAC member does not agree with the chairman, the chairman can call for a media conference to let the public know about it," she added.

With Mohd Shamsuddin's resignation, she said, the Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) should name a person as Opposition leader, who would automatically assume the post of the Selangor PAC chairman.