A Kadir
Jasin
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
PREAMBLE: Views
expressed herein are entirely mine. I am writing in my personal capacity as a
blogger. It has nothing to do with whatever position I may hold.
 |
| Direct and indirect confidence motion possible |
THE
SITTING of the Dewan Rakyat (the House of Representatives) of the Malaysian
Parliament starting tomorrow is a momentous occasion – a history in its own
right.
Two
“extraordinary” items fire the imagination of the public. One concerns the
position of the Speaker and the other of the Prime Minister himself.
And
there might be a third – a new voting bloc. The former Prime Minister (twice),
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had announced that six “Bersatu” MPs are aligning themselves
with nine Warisan and a single UPKO members to form a new voting bloc.
As
had been widely reported, the Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin, had submitted
a motion seeking the removal of the highly regardless Speaker, Tan Sri Mohamad
Ariff Md Yusof, while Dr Mahathir would continue
with his motion to have Muhyiddin removed.
(Comments on unrelated subjects may not be published).
Since
being sworn in on March 2, Muhyiddin had adopted a slash and burn policy of firing
appointees of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, most of whom were professionals, and replacing
them with his people, the majority of whom are politicians. It’s his way of
buying support.
Mohamad
Ariff, a former Appeal Court judge was appointed in July 17, 2018 upon the
victory of the PH in the May 9 General Elections.
Also
to be removed is one of the two Deputy Speakers, Nga Kor Ming, the PH (DAP) Member
of Parliament for Teluk Intan, Perak. The other, Mohd Rashid Hasnon, the PH
(PKR) MP for Batu Pahat, Johor, appears to be unaffected.
It
has been widely reported that Muhyiddin has nominated the former Chairman of the Election
Commission, lawyer Azhar Harun, as the candidate for the Speaker post and the
BN (Umno) MP for Pengerang, Johor, Azalina Othman Said, as Nga’s replacement.
Azhar,
who is better known by his non de plume Art Harun, resigned from the EC on June
29. He was nominated to the EC post by the PH government of which Muhyiddin was
a senior member.
It
appears that he is being nominated in order to continue to give a semblance of independence
to the Chair.
But
it raises eyebrows because only four months ago Muhyiddin had nominated his
elder brother, Idrus Harun, as Attorney General.
Two
things are to be considered. Firstly, it has been widely reported that this is the first time in the country’s history that the Prime Minister is
seeking the removal of the Speaker.
Secondly,
the motion could be used to show confidence in the Prime Minister or as an
indirect no-confidence vote against him depending on the “yea” and “nay” from
members.
Do
bear in mind that Muhyiddin himself had admitted, during his March 27
television broadcast, that “this isn’t the government you voted for.”
His
Muafakat Nasional (MN) ally, Pas President Abdul Hadi Awang was even more
candid when he described Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional (PN) government as one
that came in through the roof.
Abdul
Hadi, who is the MP for Marang, had since been appointed Muhyiddin’s Special
Envoy to the Middle East with ministerial status and understandably had stopped complaining
about the legitimacy of the PN’s government.
No-Confidence Motion
According
to media report, Dr Mahathir had successfully submitted a no-confidence motion
against Muhyiddin. It was supposed to have been moved in the last session.
But Muhyiddin succeeded in stifling it by limiting the session to one day - May 18 - and confining the nominal sitting to just the King’s speech.
And
now it’s being widely speculated that Muhyiddin is seeking Mohd Ariff’s removal
because he (Mohd Ariff) accepted Dr Mahathir’s motion. If he remains in the
Chair, he might facilitate the tabling of the “usul”.
Muhyiddin
could be betting on a more thoughtful and kinder treatment from a new Speaker in
whose appointment he has a hand.
But
it might not be as easy as that. He could face resistance from House members. They might not agree with his attempt to remove Mohd Ariff and appoint Azhar.
If
this happens, his standing as the Prime Minister will be hurt because such an
outcome could be interpreted as an indirect no-confidence vote against him.
Conversely,
if he succeeds in having Mohd Ariff removed and Azhar appointed, his position becomes
stronger and Dr Mahathir’s no-confidence motion could see a tougher passage.
But
whatever the outcome maybe, the final objective must still be for the good
of the country and the people more so as we enter the recovery phase of the
Covid-19 pandemic and are rebuilding of the economy.
Wallahuaklam.
