KUANTAN: Amanah is finally set to have a representative in the Pahang legislature assembly after its state chairman Mohd Fadzli Mohd Ramly was named one of the five appointed assemblymen at Wisma Sri Pahang today.
The others were Pahang PKR deputy chairman Rizal Jamin, Temerloh MCA division chief Datuk Wong Tat Chee, Jerantut Umno division chief Haris Salleh Hamzah and Tengku Ampuan Afzan Maahad Tahfiz founder Datuk Ahmad Irshadi Abdullah Al-Qadri.
All the appointed assemblymen will be sworn in during the next state sitting scheduled for August.
The motion to appoint the five was tabled by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and passed by a majority vote.
In November 2020, the Pahang assembly approved a motion to amend the state constitution to appoint five assemblymen without going through the election process.
The five assemblymen can participate in debates and have the right to vote but are not eligible to be elected as menteri besar or state executive council members.
When tabling the motion, Wan Rosdy described the appointment of the five additional elected representatives as an effort to help serve the people better and complement the current assemblymen to execute the Pahang government's mission and vision.
After the motion on the appointment was approved by seven unity government assemblymen, Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (Pas-Cheka) stood up saying that he felt that the appointment would involve additional expenditures.
"The appointment could have included representatives from the Indian and Orang Asli community so that they will be seen as being represented in the state assembly. There now seems to be a need for an additional budget for the new appointees," he said.
Wan Rosdy interjected, explaining that the appointment was done after more than two years due to the state government's strong financial position and the people's welfare was beyond the cost (additional expenditures).
"There is no conflict... if the matter (was seen to be a move that would) lead to losses, then it would not be implemented. We do not have a MCA representative in the state assembly... to look into the Orang Asli affairs, we already have a senator and Orang Asli member of parliament (Cameron Highlands member of parliament Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor)
"We looked into the financial implications and other legal aspects before making the appointments. There is no need to delay and it should be carried out as planned," he said.
Andansura Rabu (Pas-Beserah) sought a postponement on the appointment saying it was best to clarify their roles as most of the names were actively involved in politics.
Wan Rosdy replied that Pahang was not the first state to have appointed assemblymen and there were no issues regarding the matter.
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin said the five assemblymen have not been assigned to any constituencies and will serve until the end of the current term.
The Pahang assembly has 42 elected representatives with 25 representing Barisan Nasional (17 assemblymen), DAP (six) and PKR (two) while Perikatan Nasional has 17 representatives.