Speaker accepts Dr M’s motion of no confidence against Muhyiddin
(NST) – Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof has accepted former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
According to Ariff, Dr Mahathir submitted two motions on May 4 and only one was accepted to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.
“The (second) motion is under Standing Order 27 (3) which states:
“To propose a resolution to state that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the Pagoh MP does not have the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat MPs.
“The motion under 27 (3) is accepted to be brought into the upcoming Dewan Rakyat proceeding,” Ariff said.
The decision came as a surprise given that Ariff on May 5, had rejected Semporna MP Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal’s motion of confidence on Dr Mahathir.
In his letter dated May 1, Shafie said that Dr Mahathir enjoys the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat and he also proposed to invoke Standing Order 27 (3).
The second motion was on Ariff’s duty as the Speaker, where Dr Mahathir proposed for the former to continue his duty until the current 14th Parliament term ends.
“On May 4 I received two motions from the Langkawi Member of Parliament (Dr Mahathir). The first motion is under Standing Order 4 which states:
“To state that the Dewan Rakyat Speaker for this term shall remain until the House is dissolved.
“After careful consideration based on the explanations given, I have decided to reject the motion under Standing Order 4 as it is not in accordance with the Standing Order,” he said.
Ariff explained that the reason he made such decisions was to fulfil his duty as the Speaker which demands him to uphold the rule of law.
“As the Dewan Rakyat speaker, I have to evaluate in detail and ensure that all submitted motions are in accordance with the Standing Order because for me, it is part of the rule of law.
“In this case, whatever decision that has been made by the Speaker must be just as well as upholding the integrity of the Dewan Rakyat and the Parliament,” he said.
Apart from Dr Mahathir and Shafie, former Law Minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong (Batu Sapi MP) also submitted a similar request of motions that Muhyiddin does not command the majority in Dewan Rakyat and that Dr Mahathir is the one who enjoys such majority.
Aside from the Standing Order 27 (3), Liew filed a motion under Standing Order 18 calling for the Dewan Rakyat sitting to be held for eight days instead of the government’s decision to do a one-day sitting on May 18.
“After careful consideration based on the explanations given, I have decided to reject some of the motions as there was no reason to rush the (motion), while other motions are accepted because it concerns the people’s interest and must be immediately brought to the Dewan Rakyat,” Ariff said.
The Dewan Rakyat will convene for the first time this year on May 18. The sitting is the first to be held following a weeklong constitutional crisis a couple of months ago which had left the country without a government during that period.
It was sparked by a political manoeuvre employed by several former Pakatan Harapan leaders together with their counterparts in Umno and Pas, to form a new government under the loose Perikatan Nasional alliance.
Dr Mahathir, who previously said he was unhappy with the political ploy made by his party members, resigned abruptly, forcing the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to intervene.
On March 1, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as prime minister after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong said that the former appeared to have commanded the majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
However, Dr Mahathir claimed the opposite, saying the number of MPs presented by Muhyiddin to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was false.
