New coalition government only possible if PM is removed, says lawyer

PETALING JAYA: Any government formed by a new coalition will only take shape if the prime minister loses the confidence of the majority in the Dewan Rakyat, a lawyer says amid talk of a new pact to challenge Pakatan Harapan (PH).

R Kenghadharan said even then, the prime minister could ask the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who is the appointing authority, to dissolve the legislature to pave the way for a fresh general election.

“If the king’s assent is obtained, the mandate will be returned to the voters to elect a new government,” he added.

If the request for dissolution was turned down, he said, the prime minister would then tender his resignation to allow the king to appoint another MP to form a new government.

The lawyer was responding to remarks by Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who raised the possibility of a new coalition called Pakatan Malaysia which would comprise PAS, MCA, MIC, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Bersatu Sabah and PKR.

Khaled said with the right formula, they could form a political coalition that could give PH a run for its money.

Kenghadharan warned however that it would be difficult to unseat the PH government given that it was working to establish a correct framework for good governance.

PH, which is administering Putrajaya, consists of PKR, DAP, PPBM, Amanah and political allies from Sabah. It holds a 125-seat majority in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat.

Kenghadharan said Khaled appeared to be relying on a combination of about 100 MPs from PKR and Umno, 18 from PAS and those from Sabah and Sarawak to oust the PH coalition led by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

At least 112 MPs must support a no-confidence vote to remove the prime minister from office.

Kenghadhran said a prime minister, menteri besar or chief minister could only be removed through established convention or a court judgment.

He said a representation to the king that the prime minister no longer enjoyed support in the legislature was a precedent adopted in Perak in 2009.

He was referring to events in which the menteri besar, Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, was ousted after three state assembly members defected from Pakatan Rakyat. They declared themselves as Barisan Nasional-friendly independents, giving BN a three-seat majority.

The late Tuanku Azlan Shah, who was the sultan at the time, refused to dissolve the state assembly as advised by Nizar, and the Federal Court ruled in 2010 that the loss of confidence need not only be established through a vote in the legislature.

The court held that the ruler could determine the loss of confidence from other extraneous sources.

However, Kenghadharan said the better way was for MPs to take a vote against the prime minister when the Dewan Rakyat was in session. -FMT