DAP’s Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh has called on the new Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to appoint Azalina Othman Said as Home Minister.
“I feel that right now, since Azalina is no longer a deputy speaker, she can be a frontrunner in being picked for important ministries,”
“A lot of the time we look at the Home Ministry as a very powerful position given to senior men in any political party but there are a lot of issues concerning citizenship, marriages and divorces and all of these are parked under the National Registration Department.
“Stateless children too, these are core issues that must be tackled. Unfortunately, we have not seen any home minister dealing with these issues, so I feel it would be good for the prime minister to pick Azalina as the new home minister, and if they can’t then maybe law minister or women’s minister, preferably all three,” said Yeoh in an interview with Astro Awani.
Datuk Seri Azalina Othman has recently resigned as Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker for several reasons including conflict of roles and responsibilities between being an Umno supreme council member and MP in a ruling coalition.
“Past events have revealed conflicting decisions within Umno as a party and MPs of a coalition government.
“In the future, Speakers and Deputy Speakers of the Lower House should be suspended from any political party posts to ensure political impartiality, which is a key feature of the Office, so he or she can effectively function without fear or favour,” she was quoted by The Star as saying.
