PENANG, Fri.: May 2, 2008 BERNAMA
Balik Pulau PKR vice-president 1, Abdul Halim Hussain, 48, today was appointed the new Penang State Assembly speaker taking over from the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Datuk Seri Yahaya Abdul Hamid.
He was nominated by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and seconded by his deputy, Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin when the assembly sat today to chose the speaker, deputy speaker and swearing in of the 42 elected representatives in the state.
Abdul Halim, who lost to Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya of the BN in the contest for the Telok Bahang state seat in the March 8 election, was previously a businessman and a teacher.
The seventh of eight siblings, he holds an MBA from Universiti Sains Malaysia and is married to Wan Zuraida Amirruddin. The couple have five children.
When contacted later, he said that he would do his best to ensure the smooth running of the assembly in the interest of the people of Penang.
Tan Hock Leong (PKR-Machang Bubok) was elected deputy speaker.
In the March 8 election, the Pakatan Rakyat coalition of the DAP, PKR and PAS defeated the BN, which had been power in the state since Independence, to form the new government in Penang. The DAP won 19 seats, PKR 11, PAS one while the BN only managed to capture 11 in the 42-seat assembly.
Datuk Azhar Ibrahim (BN-Penaga) was chosen to be the opposition leader.
In a twist of events, Ong Khan Lee (PKR-Kebun Bunga) surprised everyone when he came dressed in a black Baju Melayu complete with samping and songkok.
Asked about it, he said,”We must be proud of the diversity of Malaysians.”
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