KUCHING, June 18 — Tan Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar will soon be appointed as the new Dewan Negara Speaker following his nomination for the post.

The Former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) said he was recently contacted through Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) on whether he was willing to come out of retirement to serve the country again.

"Based on this, it shows to me that the nation required my service and so I accepted the nomination (for Dewan Negara Speaker) on the day itself.

"Then on June 15, I was informed by officials in the Prime Minister’s Department that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim went to have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong about nominating me to become a senator and by nightfall, I was informed that my appointment as senator had been consented by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

"These two things must go together. I must first become a senator before I can be nominated as Dewan Negara Speaker,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted.

He said he was informed by the Dewan Negara secretary on Friday that he was the sole nominee for the post and with that, he will be sworn in as Dewan Negara Speaker tomorrow during the sitting.

"I will be sworn in first as senator, after which the secretary will announce the nomination for the new Speaker, which closed on Friday and with no other nominees, therefore he will announce my appointment as the new Dewan Negara Speaker,” said Wan Junaidi, who will be replacing Tan Sri Rais Yatim whose term ended on June 16.

The former Santubong MP described his appointment as a national service and an opportunity to serve the government and country again.

"It’s nice to be useful to the government and the nation. It’s not so much about money matters, for this post is no ordinary position and I feel very honoured.

"I’m now being called to sit in a very high office with great responsibilities and with my knowledge as a lawyer and having written many articles and books on Parliament, I feel very excited and ready to take on this new journey,” he said.

Besides being the minister in charge of Parliament and Law, Wan Junaidi also held several posts under the previous administrations including Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker from 2008 to 2013.

The political veteran served as an MP for Batang Lupar from 1990 until 2004 before switching to Santubong where he served his constituents from 2008 until his retirement last year. — Borneo Post