PETALING JAYA, May 8 — Malaysian Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof has rejected Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s request for a motion to keep the former as the Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
In a written reply, Ariff said he will not allow Tun Dr Mahathir to bring this matter to the meeting at the Parliament which will sit on May 18, as the motion was not filed under Standing Order 27.
“The motion proposed by Tun was not proposed under Standing Order 27.
“As such, I will not allow the motion to be brought to Parliament,” said Ariff.
In this regard, Ariff confirmed in a letter dated May 4 that he received and rejected a request from former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir to table a motion of no-confidence against his immediate successor, Muhhyiddin Yassin. The motion was supported by Head of the State of Sabah, Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
Ariff said in a reply letter, the request for a motion of no-confidence unconstitutional and a challenge to the king’s authority in appointing the one he believed he had the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament.
However, today it was announced that the motion to hold a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has been accepted by the Parliament and would be brought forward.
Ariff confirmed the motion was filed by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and was accepted.
Mohamad Ariff said he received the motion on May 4 from Dr Mahathir.
“After examining the explanations provided, the motion under Standing Order 27(3) (that Muhyiddin does not command support of the majority of the House) is accepted to be brought to the coming Dewan Rakyat meeting,” Ariff said in a statement today (May 8).
In a letter dated May 4, Dr Mahathir wrote a letter to the Speaker to seek permission for the motion and resolution on the matter to be allowed when Parliament sits for one day on May 18.
Shafie had filed a motion under Standing Order 27(3) dated May 1 which read that Dr Mahathir had the majority support and confidence in the parliament. Ariff said Shafie’s motion was rejected as it was not in line with Article 43 of the Federal Constitution.
Mahathir, 95, issued his sudden resignation on February 24, prompting a week-long of power struggle between Pakatan Harapan, the Islamic party the PAS, Barisan Nasional, and PKR defectors.
The political crisis resolved after the king, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah appointed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the eighth prime minister of Malaysia, as he was considered “the most likely leader” for the parliamentary majority leadership.
On March 1, Yassin was sworn in, but Mahathir claimed that he had the support of 114 MPs, which was enough to get a majority vote in the parliamentary election, and accused Muhyiddin of treachery.
Parliament is due to convene for the first time since Muhyiddin came to power this year on May 18,
Opposition leaders claim that new Prime Minister Muhyiddin is trying to avoid being questioned and keep delaying the parliament session.
However, the government stresses that the opening of the new Parliament session should be postponed until May 18, because of the Covid-19 pandemic where nobody in interested in politics rather than solving the issue of coronvirus outbreak that is putting millions of lives at stake and disrupting the economy. – Malaysia World News
