Dewan Rakyat Starts Confidence Vote For Anwar, Speaker Elex Suggests Comfortable Majority

The Dewan Rakyat is holding its first session after the 15th general election, with lawmakers starting the debate on a confidence vote for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

• The lower house elected Anwar's candidate Johari Abdul to the position of the Speaker by a majority of 147 votes to 74, which suggests that the Cabinet should easily secure the backing of parliament.
• A majority of 147 in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat represents a simple majority, but falls just one seat short of a two-thirds supermajority needed to enact constitutional amendments.
• Anwar had earlier suggested that his unity government did command the support of two-thirds of Dewan Rakyat members, which would give him a free hand to reform Malaysia's political system.