KUALA LUMPUR (May 8): For the first time ever, Malaysia will witness a vote of no confidence against a sitting prime minister this May 18.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof has allowed a motion by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for a vote of no confidence against his unplanned successor, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The no-confidence vote will be a test on whether Muhyiddin commands majority support in the Lower House of Parliament, as he claimed previously.
It will also show the extent of the internal rife within Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), which is now split in two, with one side calling for renewed cooperation with the former ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition while the other is opposed to it.
What will happen on May 18?
When the Dewan Rakyat sits on May 18, the members of Parliament (MPs) will debate the motion in the House, after which they will cast a vote in support of the motion, or in opposition to it, constitutional expert Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar told theedgemarkets.com.
The MPs may also choose to abstain from voting.
If Muhyiddin garners support from a simple majority of those present and voting, the status quo remains.
However, if he is unable to secure majority support, Muhyiddin as well as the entire Cabinet will have to tender their resignation under Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution.
Alternatively, Muhyiddin may request the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve the Parliament. The King, in response, may accept or reject the request.
“Recall that the then sitting Menteri Besar of Perak made this request to the then Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak in the Perak State Assembly crisis. The request was not acceded to,” Gurdial said.
Should the Parliament be dissolved, Malaysia will see a fresh general election within 60 days of the dissolution to elect a new federal government.
If the King rejects a request to dissolve the Parliament, he may then invite an MP who in his judgment commands the majority support in the Dewan Rakyat to be the new prime minister.
“How the King decides who has this majority confidence depends on His Majesty,” said Gurdial.
“He can invite members and interview them as to whom they support, as was done by the King recently when deciding on the appointment of the present PM.
“But he need not do so by this method.
“His Majesty can choose any method he thinks most appropriate to decide who in his judgment is likely to have the confidence of the majority,” Gurdial added.
There is also the possibility that this issue of who has the confidence of the majority be decided by the House on a fresh motion, if allowed to be tabled by the Speaker, he said.
A divided opposition?
The no-confidence vote is made interesting as both sides of the political divide comprise loose political coalitions.
On one side, there is Muhyiddin and his party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, as well as the Barisan Nasional coalition, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and several Sabah state opposition parties.
On the other side there is the Pakatan Harapan coalition, as well its ally Parti Warisan Sabah.
The PH coalition has contested that Muhyiddin did not have the support of the majority when he formed the new federal government in late February this year.
Muhyiddin, who is president of Bersatu, took over Putrajaya with the support of Barisan Nasional and PAS, as the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong viewed that he had obtained majority support from MPs at the time.
With Bersatu being a minority with fewer seats compared with BN-led Umno, Muhyiddin may have to once again rely on the numbers by BN and PAS to retain his premiership — although the partners may be driven to protect their seats in a federal government at this point in time.
Muhyiddin’s swift entry into Putrajaya as prime minister came on the heels of PH’s collapse, after Dr Mahathir’s shock resignation as PM.
The move by Bersatu to leave PH was however not supported by Dr Mahathir, who is still Bersatu chairman, and several other Bersatu MPs, resulting in cracks in the party.
Yesterday, Bersatu’s information chief Dr Mohamad Radzi Md Jidin issued a statement saying that those opposed to the party’s decision to burn its bridges with PH, will be revoked of the party’s membership.
It is unclear if Dr Mahathir’s Bersatu membership has been revoked with that announcement.
However, while the motion of no confidence against Muhyiddin was filed by Dr Mahathir, it is unclear if the former PM is still aligned to PH, which he chaired previously.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is president of PH component party PKR, has announced in recent days that he would be appointed as the leader of the Opposition in the Dewan Rakyat.
Interestingly, Parti Warisan’s president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal also earlier this week filed a now-rejected motion of confidence on Dr Mahathir commanding the majority support of the Dewan Rakyat.