KUALA LUMPUR - WHEN Malaysia's new Parliament sits today, it will have a significantly larger opposition bloc that is all set to give the ruling coalition a hard time in the legislature.
The meeting is the first since last month's historic elections, which saw the opposition denying Barisan Nasional (BN) its traditional two-thirds majority.
Out of the 222 lawmakers, 82 are from the opposition alliance known as the Pakatan Rakyat. In the previous parliament, the opposition had only 20 MPs in the then 219-seat legislature.
The coalition is made up of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS).
Now, government-sponsored Bills face the prospect of being defeated in the House - a possibility unthinkable just a few months ago when BN controlled 90 per cent of the seats in Parliament.
'We are going to give an even more difficult passage to Bills now. It won't be as easy as before,' said DAP's Tanjung MP Chow Kon Yeow.
Many firsts for Parliament
140 Barisan Nasional MPs against 82 from the opposition
'The DAP will continue to bring up issues like corruption and transparency. We are not letting up on these,' he added.
Besides the enlarged opposition presence, the Dewan Rakyat (Lower House) will also see the return of several notoriously vocal lawmakers.
They include PAS' Mahfuz Omar, the DAP's Lim Guan Eng and PAS-aligned independent Ibrahim Ali.
The Kedah MP for Pokok Sena, Mr Mahfuz, told The Straits Times: 'We are going to make sure we keep the BN government on its toes. In the past, it may have been able to get away, but not now. We have more MPs now.'
He represented the same seat between 1999 and 2004.
PAS, he said, has also set set up a shadow Cabinet with each of its 23 MPs tasked with monitoring specific portfolios in the BN government.
For example, PAS president Hadi Awang, who is Marang MP, is in charge of the Prime Minister's Department.
The recent elections also brought mavericks into the house.
Among them is Mr Tian Chua, who was arrested for trying to enter the Parliament building to protest against a constitutional amendment which activists say would curtail civil rights.
Mr Chua said he would push to address civil liberty issues, such as the Internal Security Act and corruption.
Taking his place among new opposition members is prominent blogger Jeff Ooi, who wrote fiery anti-government articles during the campaign, attracting a huge following in cyberspace.
Mr Ooi, 52, a former advertising executive, said: 'Parliament is going to be a noisy place...I think we are going to give the backbenchers a run for their money.'
Another surprise winner in the elections was Mr Loh Gwo Burne, who had not even thought of entering politics until this year.
He shot to fame when he stepped forward as the person who had secretly filmed lawyer V.K. Lingam allegedly brokering judicial appointments.
The video found its way to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who released it last September, using it as a major weapon to flog the government with.
Mr Loh said that Datuk Seri Anwar had persuaded him to stand for elections.
'My political aspirations are about a month old now. I will try to do as much as I can. There is too much nonsense going on in the country,' said the 34-year-old.
The ruling coalition's MPs, however, are not perturbed by the prospect of facing potentially tough opponents across the aisle.
BN backbenchers club deputy chairman Bung Mokhtar Radin told The Straits Times that the ruling coalition MPs would continue to do their job, including offering constructive criticism to the government.
'We have enough experience dealing with the opposition. We are not afraid,' he said. There are now 77 BN MPs to the opposition's 82.
MPs, led by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, will be sworn in today. The swearing-in will be followed by the election of the Speaker, who is expected to be Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.
Tomorrow, the Malaysian King will open the sitting and deliver a royal address.
The meeting proper
will begin on Wednesday when the MPs will debate the King's speech.
The meeting is the first since last month's historic elections, which saw the opposition denying Barisan Nasional (BN) its traditional two-thirds majority.
Out of the 222 lawmakers, 82 are from the opposition alliance known as the Pakatan Rakyat. In the previous parliament, the opposition had only 20 MPs in the then 219-seat legislature.
The coalition is made up of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS).
Now, government-sponsored Bills face the prospect of being defeated in the House - a possibility unthinkable just a few months ago when BN controlled 90 per cent of the seats in Parliament.
'We are going to give an even more difficult passage to Bills now. It won't be as easy as before,' said DAP's Tanjung MP Chow Kon Yeow.
Many firsts for Parliament
140 Barisan Nasional MPs against 82 from the opposition
'The DAP will continue to bring up issues like corruption and transparency. We are not letting up on these,' he added.
Besides the enlarged opposition presence, the Dewan Rakyat (Lower House) will also see the return of several notoriously vocal lawmakers.
They include PAS' Mahfuz Omar, the DAP's Lim Guan Eng and PAS-aligned independent Ibrahim Ali.
The Kedah MP for Pokok Sena, Mr Mahfuz, told The Straits Times: 'We are going to make sure we keep the BN government on its toes. In the past, it may have been able to get away, but not now. We have more MPs now.'
He represented the same seat between 1999 and 2004.
PAS, he said, has also set set up a shadow Cabinet with each of its 23 MPs tasked with monitoring specific portfolios in the BN government.
For example, PAS president Hadi Awang, who is Marang MP, is in charge of the Prime Minister's Department.
The recent elections also brought mavericks into the house.
Among them is Mr Tian Chua, who was arrested for trying to enter the Parliament building to protest against a constitutional amendment which activists say would curtail civil rights.
Mr Chua said he would push to address civil liberty issues, such as the Internal Security Act and corruption.
Taking his place among new opposition members is prominent blogger Jeff Ooi, who wrote fiery anti-government articles during the campaign, attracting a huge following in cyberspace.
Mr Ooi, 52, a former advertising executive, said: 'Parliament is going to be a noisy place...I think we are going to give the backbenchers a run for their money.'
Another surprise winner in the elections was Mr Loh Gwo Burne, who had not even thought of entering politics until this year.
He shot to fame when he stepped forward as the person who had secretly filmed lawyer V.K. Lingam allegedly brokering judicial appointments.
The video found its way to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who released it last September, using it as a major weapon to flog the government with.
Mr Loh said that Datuk Seri Anwar had persuaded him to stand for elections.
'My political aspirations are about a month old now. I will try to do as much as I can. There is too much nonsense going on in the country,' said the 34-year-old.
The ruling coalition's MPs, however, are not perturbed by the prospect of facing potentially tough opponents across the aisle.
BN backbenchers club deputy chairman Bung Mokhtar Radin told The Straits Times that the ruling coalition MPs would continue to do their job, including offering constructive criticism to the government.
'We have enough experience dealing with the opposition. We are not afraid,' he said. There are now 77 BN MPs to the opposition's 82.
MPs, led by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, will be sworn in today. The swearing-in will be followed by the election of the Speaker, who is expected to be Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.
Tomorrow, the Malaysian King will open the sitting and deliver a royal address.
The meeting proper
will begin on Wednesday when the MPs will debate the King's speech.
WE DID IT, DAD: DAP lawmakers Lim Guan Eng and his father Kit Siang.
DYNAMIC DUO: MPs from PKR, party president Wan Azizah Ismail and daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar
FAMILY TEAM: MPs from DAP, party deputy chairman Karpal Singh and his son Gobind Singh
ASSOCIATED PRESS - 28/04/08
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