12TH PARLIAMENT CONVENES TODAY

KUALA LUMPUR, (Bernama) -- The 12th Parliament convenes today following the general election on March 8.

The first meeting of the first session will see the 222 MPs being sworn in. Just before that, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia is scheduled to take his oath of office as the new Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.

A vote will be taken to fill the two posts of deputy speaker. The Barisan Nasional (BN) has nominated Santubong MP Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Beluran MP Datuk Ronald Kiandee while the DAP has nominated Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, will officially open the first session of parliament on Tuesday. The first meeting is scheduled for 16 days up to May 27.

The Dewan Rakyat is set to record history. Ninety-nine MPs will be new faces while the opposition will be represented by 82 MPs, more than four times the number in the last parliament.

Permatang Pauh MP, Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, is set to create history as well, as the first woman Opposition Leader. Parti Keadilan Rakyat, (PKR) which she helms, has 31 seats in the House, the highest number among the opposition parties. The DAP has 28 and PAS, 23.

The Dewan Rakyat proceedings are expected to be heated this time around, considering the varied background of the MPs and the inclination of many of them to be vocal.

The public will be able to follow the question-and-answer session in the House as Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) will broadcast live a 30-minute segment of the proceedings during meetings beginning Wednesday.

Prior to the dissolution of parliament on February 13, the Dewan Rakyat had 219 seats -- 199 occupied by the BN, 12 by the DAP, six by PAS and one each by the PKR and an independent MP.

A redelineation exercise has given Sarawak three more parliamentary seats, raising the total number of seats in the House to 222.

In the general election last month, the BN won 140 seats to win by a simple majority. The opposition, comprising the PKR, DAP and PAS, won the remaining 82 seats.