By Nizam Zain
KUALA LUMPUR – None of the Members of Parliament (MPs) can prove that he/she has the majority support that enables the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) to appoint him/her as the new Prime Minister.
Therefore, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that a new Cabinet cannot be formed in that situation.
“If I resign now, not only that I will stop becoming the Prime Minister but the existing Cabinet will also be dissolved.
“According to the Federal Constitution, I need to resign my whole Cabinet. This means that the PN Government which is ruling the country will fall,” he said during a live broadcast today.
Muhyiddin also expressed his sadness after several MPs withdrew their support for him and caused his legitimacy as the Prime Minister to be questioned.
“I am rather sad with the current political development. Unfortunately, when my friends in the Cabinet and I are working hard managing the pandemic, several Members of Parliament have withdrawn their support for me.
“This created a doubt on my legitimacy as the Prime Minister and the position of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) as the ruling government,” he added.
Muhyiddin also said that he has two choices according to the National Constitution.
He can request the YDPA to dissolve the government to pave way for general election or he can resign.
“My simple choice is to resign. If I make this decision, my job is done and it is up to the discrepancy of the His Majesty YDPA to choose the new Prime Minister.
“According to Article 43(2) of the Federal Constitution, YDPA can choose a Prime Minister among the MPs whom, in his opinion, has the majority confidence of the MPs,” he added.
Nevertheless, he said, none of the MPs can prove that they have the majority support to enable them to be appointed as the new Prime Minister, thus he is seeking bipartisan support, to form a bipartisan government.
If the bipartisan cooperation is reached, he will call for a special Dewan Rakyat sitting to table a confidence motion.
“I give you my guarantee that I will take honourable and constitutional actions in resolving the current political crisis.
“My priority is to ensure that the government continues to function well in overcoming the pandemic and allow the country to recover,” he said.
He also gave his guarantee to tabulate a bill to amend the Constitution by limiting the Prime Minister’s post to only two terms. It can only be done if the government gets a two-third majority through bipartisan support at the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara.
“The government will also tabulate the Bill for Anti-Party Hopping Law at the Parliament,” he added. –MalaysiaGazette
