A Vote Against Budget 2021 Is Not A Vote Of No Confidence Against The PM

 

In other words, if Budget 2021 is defeated, this cannot be translated into a backdoor motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister. They will still need to pass a specific or explicit motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister before it can be considered that Muhyiddin has lost his majority in Parliament.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Khaliq Mehtab, the State Assemblyman for Bertam, Pulau Pinang, raised a very interesting point in his article PKR CUBA MENGABURI RAKYAT MALAYSIA, in which he said:

Kepalsuan pertama ialah hujahnya bahawa jika Belanjawan 2021 tidak diluluskan, Tan Sri Muhyiddin tidak mempunyai pilihan selain meletakkan jawatan. Ini tidak benar. Di bawah Perkara 43(4) Perlembagaan Persekutuan, seorang PM hanya perlu meletakkan jawatan bilamana tidak lagi mendapat kepercayaan majoriti ahli Dewan Rakyat. Ini dikenali sebagai usul tidak percaya. Di Malaysia, usul bagi meluluskan belanjawan bukanlah usul undi percaya.

Tiada sebarang peruntukan dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan yang menyatakan bahawa seorang PM yang tidak mendapat undi kelulusan belanjawan perlu meletak jawatan. Ini hanya sekadar konvensyen. Malah, sekiranya Belanjawan 2021 gagal diluluskan, pemerintah hari ini berhak untuk merangka belanjawan baru. (READ MORE HERE).

Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia says: “If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet.”

In short, this means if Budget 2021 is defeated next week, it just means Budget 2021 is defeated. It does not mean a no-confidence motion has been passed against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

To bring down Muhyiddin, a specific or explicit resolution of confidence has to be passed by Parliament. You cannot do it through an unofficial, de facto, or backdoor motion of confidence by defeating a certain Bill in Parliament.

The impression Pakatan Harapan and the anti-Muhyiddin faction in Umno and Perikatan Nasional are giving is that if Budget 2021 is defeated, this suggests, hints, or insinuates that the majority of the 222 Members of Parliament no longer have confidence in or support Muhyiddin as Prime Minister.

That is not so.

It is almost like the law of divorced in Islam. You cannot suggest, hint, or insinuate that you are divorcing your wife. You must state clearly, explicitly, and unequivocally that you are divorcing your wife. Just because you did not invite your wife to your sister’s wedding cannot be interpreted as you are divorcing her.

Pakatan Harapan and the anti-Muhyiddin faction in Umno and Perikatan Nasional want us to interpret or tafsir the defeat of Budget 2021, if it happens, as an unofficial, de facto, or backdoor motion of confidence against Muhyiddin.

It does not work that way.

In the United Kingdom, confidence motions are a means of testing the support of the government (executive) in a legislative body, and for the legislature to remove the government from office. A confidence motion may take the form of either a vote of confidence, usually put forward by the government, or a vote of no confidence (or censure motion), usually proposed by the opposition. When such a motion is put to a vote in the legislature, if a vote of confidence is defeated, or a vote of no confidence is passed, then the incumbent government must resign, or call a general election (BBC News, 13 August 2008).

It used to be the case that a defeat on a major matter had the same effect as if an explicit vote of confidence had carried but that a development in constitutional practice has occurred since the 1970s. Thatcher’s defeat over the Shops Bill 1986 did not trigger a confidence motion despite being described as ‘a central piece of their legislative programme’. The government simply accepted that they could not pass the bill and gave assurances to Parliament that they would not introduce it (http://revolts.co.uk/, 12 June 2017).

Under the act, a passing of a motion of no confidence is one of only two ways in which an early election can occur (the other is a motion to hold an early election passed by at least two-thirds of MPs). Following a successful motion, Parliament must dissolve, unless the motion is overturned within 14 days by the passing of an explicit motion of confidence. This procedure is designed to allow a minority government time to seek the support of other parties (as a formal coalition or with a confidence and supply arrangement) to avoid having to face re-election, or to allow an alternative government to be formed (Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, UK Government).

In other words, if Budget 2021 is defeated, this cannot be translated into a backdoor motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister. They will still need to pass a specific or explicit motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister before it can be considered that Muhyiddin has lost his majority in Parliament.