New Delhi, February 26 : Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Thursday described his five-year tenure in office as a "great opportunity" and revealed that he had never expected to receive the authority as a speaker, but got it.

Speaking about his bad experiences in Parliament, Chatterjee termed July 22, 2008 as the worst day of his term.

He was referring to the cash-for-vote case, when three BJP MPs displayed wads of cash in the Lower House and accused the UPA Government of offering bribes to MPs to win the trust vote.

New Delhi, Aug 2 : Lok Sabha Speaker Somanth Chatterjee will leave for Kuala Lumpur today to attend the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) meeting.

The conference will witness a direct contest for the chairmanship of the Association between NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul and a Malaysian minister.

Paul, who is a Labour member of the British House of Lords, is pitted against Mohammed Shafie Apdal, Malaysia''s Minister for Unity and Culture.