Will 35 Barisan MPs join the anti-Najib vote?
Kit Siang wants to know if enough from Umno’s 88 and 46 non-Umno members will support motion
(Free Malaysia Today) – Lim Kit Siang has asked whether at least 35 MPs from Barisan Nasional would support a confidence motion in Parliament against the Prime Minister, Najib Razak.
He posed the question when taking up a suggestion by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that opposition members back such a motion, while also allowing the Barisan Nasional to lead a new government after Najib’s departure.
Lim himself has previously proposed the idea of a grand new coalition comprising members from all parties to form a new government in place of the Barisan Nasional by removing Najib through a confidence vote.
However his campaign has remained largely stillborn.
Lim said between 75 and 78 of the 88 opposition MPs would be in support of a confidence vote, discounting about half of the 21 members of PAS who, he said, would not vote in favour unless told to do so by party leader Abdul Hadi Awang. Hadi has said he was not in favour of voting out Najib.
The Barisan Nasional commands 134 seats in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat, comprising 88 from Umno and 46 from non-Umno partners in the ruling coalition.
A simple majority of 112 votes is required for a motion of no confidence in Najib to be adopted by the House.
Lim said at least 35 of the votes would be needed from the Barisan Nasional if the motion was to succeed.
