The Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat is the presiding officer of the Dewan Rakyat

Dewan Rakyat

The Dewan Rakyat is the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. All bills must usually be passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara , before they are given Royal Assent by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong...

, the lower house of the Parliament

Parliament of Malaysia

The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....

 of Malaysia. He is responsible for convening sessions of the Dewan Rakyat, organising debates, and examining the admissibility of petitions, bills and amendments.

In the absence of the Speaker, one of his deputies will take his place. As of 2008, the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat is Pandikar Amin Mulia

Pandikar Amin Mulia

Tan Sri Datuk Seri Utama Pandikar Amin bin Haji Mulia is a Malaysian politician and the current Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. He was previously a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department...

, and his deputies are Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar

Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar

Datuk Dr. Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar is a Malaysian politician. He is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Santubong constituency in Sarawak, representing the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and sitting as a Deputy Speaker of the House...

 and Ronald Kiandee

Ronald Kiandee

Datuk Ronald Kiandee is a Malaysian politician. He is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Beluran constituency in Sabah, representing the United Malay National Organisation party in the governing Barisan Nasional coalition...

. All of them are from the ruling Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...

 coalition.

Functions

The Speaker determines when a sitting of the House should open and close, and may suspend the sitting for a brief period of time if necessary. He is also in charge of ensuring the Constitution

Constitution of Malaysia

The Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force in 1957, is the supreme law of Malaysia. The Federation was initially called the Federation of Malaya and it adopted its present name, Malaysia, when the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the Federation...

 and Standing Orders of the House are given due respect, disciplining members of the House, determining who shall have the floor during a sitting, calling a vote, and checking for a quorum

Quorum

A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...

 when the House meets. He only participates in a vote when there is a tie. The Speaker also has powers some allege to be excessive, such as imposing limits on the posing of supplementary questions during Question Time

Question Time

Question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers , which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances...

 — an important procedure for the legislature to examine the government's actions, the power to restrict the tabling of questions for Question Time, and the power to amend written copies of speeches made by members of the House before they are given verbally.

Election

The Speaker is elected to a term that lasts for the length of the term of the Dewan Rakyat that elected him. His term ends when the House is dissolved and a general election is called. He is elected when the House meets for the first time after a general election by the members of the House, who are called MPs. Any MP is qualified to be the Speaker of the House, but non-MPs who meet the same qualifications required to be an MP are also eligible for election as Speaker. A candidate for Speaker must be nominated and seconded by at least two MPs other than himself. This nomination process must be conducted at least 14 days before the election of the Speaker. If only one candidate meets these conditions, he is automatically elected Speaker; otherwise, voting by secret ballot

Secret ballot

The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...

 is conducted, with the winner decided by a simple majority

Majority

A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...

. Two deputy Speakers are elected in a similar manner.

The Clerk (Setiausaha) of the House presides over the voting.

List of Speakers of the Dewan Rakyat

Parliament	Speaker	From	To	Political party
1st Malayan general election, 1959 General elections were held in Malaya on 19 August 1959, the first since independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. It was the third national-wide election held in Malaya since the end of World War II. Malaya later formed Malaysia with three other states in 1963. Voter turnout was 73.3%.In the... 1959–1964	Mohamad Noah Omar	September 1, 1959	February 29, 1964	Alliance (UMNO United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence.... )
2nd Malaysian general election, 1964 General elections were held in Malaysia on 25 April 1964. The result was a victory for the Alliance Party, which won 89 of the 104 seats. Voter turnout was 78.9%.The result also contributed towards the eventual expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia... 1964–1969	Syed Esa Alwee Syed Esa Alwee Dato' Syed Esa bin Alwee was a Malaysian politician. He was a prominent Malay leader during the British colonial period and the subsequent struggle for independence...	May 18, 1964	November 24, 1964	Alliance (UMNO United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence.... )
	Chik Mohamed Yusuf Sheikh Abdul Rahman Chik Mohamad Yusuf Tan Sri Chik Mohamad Yusuf bin Sheikh Abdul Rahman was the third Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house in the Malaysian Parliament....	November 25, 1964	March 1, 1974	Alliance/Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...  (UMNO United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence.... )
3rd Malaysian general election, 1969 General elections were held in Malaysia on 10 May 1969, although voting was postponed until between 21 and 27 June in Sabah and Sarawak. It resulted in the return to power, with a reduced majority, of the ruling Alliance Party, comprising the United Malays National Organization , the Malayan... 1969–1974
4th Malaysian general election, 1974 General elections were held in Malaysia between 24 August and 14 September 1974, alongside state elections in all states except Sabah.. This result was a victory for Barisan Nasional , which won 135 of the 154 seats. Voter turnout was 75.1%.-Results:... 1974–1978	Nik Ahmad Kamil Nik Mahmood	November 11, 1974	December 20, 1977	Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...  (UMNO United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence.... )
	Syed Nasir Ismail Syed Nasir Ismail Tun Dato' Syed Nasir bin Ismail was a Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. During his lifetime, he was known as an ultra who sought to guarantee the primacy of the Malay language in Malaysia through the closing down of Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools...	January 9, 1978	March 16, 1982	Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...  (UMNO United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence.... )
5th Malaysian general election, 1978 General elections were held in Malaysia on 8 July 1978. It was Hussein Onn's first election since he became the country's third Prime Minister. His Barisan Nasional Party emerged victorious with 131 of the 154 seats in Parliament... 1978–1982
6th Malaysian general election, 1982 General elections were held in Malaysia on 22 April 1982. The result was a victory for Barisan Nasional, which won 132 of the 145 seats. Voter turnout was 74.4%.-Results:... 1982–1986	Mohamed Zahir Ismail Mohamed Zahir Ismail Tun Mohamed Zahir bin Haji Ismail was a Malaysian lawyer and politician. He was the longest-serving Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Malaysian Parliament.-Early life and education:...	June 14, 1982	October 14, 2004	Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...  (UMNO United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence.... )
7th Malaysian general election, 1986 General elections were held in Malaysia on 3 August 1986. The result was a victory for Barisan Nasional, which won 148 of the 177 seats. Voter turnout was 68.1%.-Results:... 1986–1990
8th Malaysian general election, 1990 General elections were held in Malaysia on 21 October 1990. The result was a victory for the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional, which won 127 of the 180 seats... 1990–1995
9th Malaysian general election, 1995 General elections were held in Malaysia on 25 April 1995. The result was a victory for the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional, which won 162 of the 192 seats. Voter turnout was 68.3%.-Results:... 1995–1999
10th Malaysian general election, 1999 The 1999 Malaysian General Election was held on 29 November 1999 as stipulated by the laws of Malaysia for general elections. As expected, the Barisan Nasional coalition maintained its majority in parliament, and thus, its grip on the post of Prime Minister.... 1999–2004
11th Malaysian general election, 2004 General elections were held in Malaysia on March 21, 2004. The incumbent National Front government of Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was re-elected with an increased majority.-Election results:... 2004–2008
	Ramli Ngah Talib Ramli Ngah Talib Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib is a Malaysian politician active in the United Malays National Organisation. He served as the 8th Menteri Besar of Perak from 1983 to 1999 and was the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat of the Malaysian Parliament from 2004 to 2008.He was born in Perak and received his early...	November 22, 2004	February 13, 2008	Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...  (UMNO United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence.... )
12th Malaysian general election, 2008 The 12th Malaysian general election was held on March 8, 2008, in accordance with Malaysian laws for national elections, which states that a general election must be held no later than five years subsequent to the previous elections; the previous general election was held in 2004... 2008–	Pandikar Amin Mulia Pandikar Amin Mulia Tan Sri Datuk Seri Utama Pandikar Amin bin Haji Mulia is a Malaysian politician and the current Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. He was previously a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department...	April 28, 2008	Incumbent	Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...  (UMNO United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence.... )

List of Deputy Speakers of the Dewan Rakyat

1. Syed Esa bin Alwee (November 25, 1964 – March 19, 1969)
2. Nik Ahmad Kamil Nik Mahmud
   Nik Ahmad Kamil Nik Mahmud
   Tan Sri Nik Ahmad Kamil bin Nik Mahmud was a Malaysian politician who played an active role during the country's road to independence...
   
    (March 9, 1971 – July 13, 1974)
3. Syed Nasir Ismail
   Syed Nasir Ismail
   Tun Dato' Syed Nasir bin Ismail was a Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. During his lifetime, he was known as an ultra who sought to guarantee the primacy of the Malay language in Malaysia through the closing down of Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools...
   
    (November 6, 1974 – January 8, 1978)
4. Azahari Md Taib (March 21, 1978 – June 11, 1978)
5. Mansor Othman (October 23, 1978 – March 28, 1982)
6. Hee Tien Lai
   Hee Tien Lai
   Dr Hee Tien Lai is a Malaysian politician of the national front, Barisan Nasional. He contested the Malaysia General Election 1978 for the seat in Ayer Hitam, Johor. He is one of the deputy speakers of the Dewan Rakyat from June 14, 1982 till July 26, 1983....
   
    (June 14, 1982 – July 26, 1983)
7. Abdul Hamid Pawanteh
   Abdul Hamid Pawanteh
   Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abdul Hamid Pawanteh is a former Malaysian politician. He was the President of the Malaysian Senate from 2003 to 2009, and was the Chief Minister of the State of Perlis from 1986 to 1995....
   
    (July 27, 1983 – July 18, 1986)
8. D.P. Vijandran (October 8, 1986 – February 23, 1990)
9. Mohamed Amin Haji Daud (October 8, 1986 – June 11, 1990)
10. Ong Tee Keat
    Ong Tee Keat
    Dato' Sri Ong Tee Keat is a Malaysian politician and current Member of Parliament for Pandan. He was the Transport Minister in the Malaysian federal cabinet from March 18, 2008 to June 4, 2010. He was the 8th president of the Malaysian Chinese Association .-Personal life:The son of a fishmonger,...
    
     (June 11, 1990 – November 10, 1999)
11. Juhar Mahiruddin
    Juhar Mahiruddin
    Tun Haji Juhar bin Haji Mahiruddin is a Malaysian politician and the current Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the state of Sabah. He was formerly a member of the Dewan Rakyat and served as deputy speaker from 1990 to 1999...
    
     (December 5, 1990 – November 10, 1999)
12. Muhammad Abdullah (December 20, 1999 – March 4, 2004)
13. Lim Si Cheng (December 20, 1999 – February 13, 2008)
14. Yusof Yacob (May 17, 2004 – February 13, 2008)
15. Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar
    Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar
    Datuk Dr. Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar is a Malaysian politician. He is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Santubong constituency in Sarawak, representing the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and sitting as a Deputy Speaker of the House...
    
     (April 28, 2008 – present)
16. Ronald Kiandee
    Ronald Kiandee
    Datuk Ronald Kiandee is a Malaysian politician. He is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Beluran constituency in Sabah, representing the United Malay National Organisation party in the governing Barisan Nasional coalition...
    
    (April 28, 2008 – present)