The secretary of the House of Representatives of Malaysia (Malay: Setiausaha Dewan Rakyat; ; Tamil: மலேசிய நாடாளுமன்றத்தின் பொது மன்றத்தின் செயலாளர்) is the chief clerk of the House of Representatives of Malaysia.
Constitutional basis The office of Secretary of the House of Representatives of Malaysia is established under Article 65 of the Constitution of Malaysia, which establishes the SUDR together with that of Secretary of the Senate of Malaysia (SUDN) as may be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia).
Clause (5) of Article 65 provides that the SUDR cannot be an individual elected as either a Member of Parliament (MP) or a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA). Clause (2) of Article 65 sets out for the office-bearer to hold office only until the age of 60. Article 125 stipulated that any removal of the SUDR outside of the incumbent's voluntary resignation can only be executed following the decision made by a tribunal appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong having received the advice to do so from the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Roles The secretary of the House of Representatives is responsible for the proceedings of the House and assists the Speaker on matters regarding the House during these proceedings.
The duties also include sending out notices for commencement of meetings, collecting proposals, articles, Order Paper, votes and written enquiries from Members of the House and producing verbatim reports of proceedings.
List of secretaries of the House of Representatives (1959–present) Parliament No. Office bearer Term of office Duration Speaker 1st1959–1964 1 C. A. Fredericks 1959 1964 years Mohamed Noah Omar 2nd1964–1969 2 Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Abu Bakar 1964 1965 year Syed Esa Alwee Chik Mohamed Yusuf Sheikh Abdul Rahman 3 Shamsuddin Mohamed Sidin 1965 1967 years 4 Jaafar Mohd. Taha 1967 1969 years 3rd1971–1974 5 Ahmad Abdullah 1969 1972 years 6 Azizul Rahman Abdul Aziz 1972 1988 years 4th1974–1978 Nik Ahmad Kamil Nik Mahmood 5th1978–1982 Syed Nasir Ismail 6th1982–1986 Mohamed Zahir Ismail 7th1986–1990 7 Wan Zahir Sheikh Abdul Rahman 1988 1993 years 8th1990–1995 8 Abdul Rahman Ali 1993 1998 years 9th1995–1999 9 Mohd. Salleh Hassan 1998 6 January2004 years 10th1999–2004 11th2004–2008 10 Abdullah Abdul Wahab 7 January2004 15 August2006 Ramli Ngah Talib 11 Mahmood Adam 11 September2006 20 December2007 12 Roosme Hamzah 26 December2007 22 February2020 12th2008–2013 Pandikar Amin Mulia 13th2013–2018 Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof14th2018–2022 13 Riduan Rahmat 22 February2020 13 May2020 14Dr. Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin14 May2020IncumbentAzhar Azizan Harun15th2022–Incumbent Johari Abdul
Controversy In mid-May 2020, Riduan Rahmat's removal as SUDR led to an uproar especially amongst opposition lawmakers who challenged the constitutionality of his removal. He was re-assigned as the management division secretary of the Dewan Negara (Senate of Malaysia) which is one-rung lower in seniority than that of the SUDR. This was despite Rahmat being the senior-most parliamentary service servant having served since 1989. According to Articles 65 (3) and 125 (3) of the Constitution of Malaysia respectively, the SUDR can only be removed from office by a tribunal appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Speculation was rife that Rahmat's removal was triggered by allegations that he was attempting to not reveal the motion of no confidence filed by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad against the incumbent Muhyiddin Muhammad Yassin. Following his controversial dismissal, Rahmat leaves as having the shortest tenure as SUDR. Subsequently, the National Alliance (PN) governing coalition that wrested power from the Alliance of Hope (PH) in the 2020 Malaysian constitutional crisis removed the no-confidence vote from the agenda and altered the parliament sitting to consist of only the speech by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
See also Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat
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