Pandikar Amin Mulia

Who is 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. After the 2008 general elections, the Barisan Nasional coalition government announced that Pandikar, a member of the United Malays National Organization, would be the new Speaker, replacing Ramli Ngah Talib. The 12th Parliament will be the first to be presided over entirely by East Malaysians; Pandikar and his deputies, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Ronald Kiandee, hail from either Sabah or Sarawak. Pandikar had previously served as the Speaker of the Sabah State Assembly from 1986 to 1988. In mid-May, after Parliament convened, Pandikar resigned as Kota Marudu UMNO division chief, citing the need to be a neutral presiding officer. He denied his resignation was linked to possible party-switching amongst UMNO MPs from East Malaysia.