Meet The New Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker, Azalina Othman

Picture Credit: Malay Mail

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Datuk Seri Azalina Datuk Othman has become the first female Deputy Speaker of Dewan Rakyat after she was appointed by Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun, who was also minted as the new Speaker.

Both them will start the post effective today 13 July.

Before becoming a Member of Parliment for Pengerang from 2004 until now, Azalina started out her career in law after receiving her Master of Laws (Laws) certification from London School of Economics and Political Science in 1990.

She then became a legal assistant at Messr Raja Darryl & Loh law firm (1988–1989, 1991–1994).

A few years after, she became an associate partner of Azalina Chan & Chia law firm (1994–2001) and with Messrs Skine (2001–2002).

In 2002, she formed a partnership with Messrs Zaid Ibrahim & Co (2002–2004).

She even had a gig in television before politics, hosting talk shows discussing political, economic and social issues.

Throughout her years as a United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) member, Azalina held a few positions in the party.

Pro tem Head, Puteri UMNO Malaysia (2001–2002) Appointed by the then President of UMNO, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as the Pro Tem Head of Puteri UMNO Malaysia, in April 2001.
Head of UMNO Civil Action Bureau (2000–2004) Appointed as Head the Civil Action Bureau of UMNO Malaysia (BTS UMNO), which is based in Sungai Way, in August 2000.
Head of Puteri UMNO Malaysia & Vice-President of UMNO (2002–2004) Elected the first Head of Puteri UMNO Malaysia, on 1 November 2002.
Member of UMNO Supreme Council (2000–Present) – Appointed to sit as a member of the UMNO Supreme Council, the highest decisions-making body of the party, in July 2000, by the then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who was also the president of UMNO.

Besides that, she also held various Ministerial posts previously, including:

Minister of Youth and Sports Malaysia (31 March 2004 – 7 March 2008).
Minister of Tourism Malaysia (18 March 2008 – 9 April 2009)
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (29 July 2015 – 2018)

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