Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat

The Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (Malay: Yang di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat) is the presiding officer of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the 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 2013, the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat is Pandikar Amin Mulia, and his deputies are Ismail Mohamed Said and Ronald Kiandee. All of them are from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

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 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 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 — 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.

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 is conducted, with the winner decided by a simple majority. Two deputy Speakers are elected in a similar manner.