Harapan: Wrong of AG to say it is 'unclear' Muhyiddin has lost majority confidence

 

Attorney-General Idrus Harun’s statement that it is unclear whether Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has lost the confidence of a majority of MPs is not accurate, said Pakatan Harapan’s legal committee.

“The statement by the attorney-general that it is for the individual Umno MPs to state they have lost confidence in the prime minister and until then Muhyiddin and his cabinet are entitled to exercise executive powers is wrong,” the committee said in a statement today.

It said Idrus (above) had failed to take into account that Muhyiddin’s appointment as prime minister back in early 2020 was based on party leaders’ representations to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and not by individual MPs.

Not only that, the committee said the loss of confidence in Muhyiddin as a prime minister could be gathered from “other extraneous evidence”, and not necessarily only via a vote of confidence in Parliament.

It said this was the principle enunciated by the Federal Court in the case of Dato Seri Ir Hj Mohammad Nizar bin Jamaluddin vs Dato Seri Zambri bin Abdul Kadir (Attorney-General Intervener) in 2010.

As such, the Harapan legal committee said, the statement by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that his party is withdrawing its support for Muhyiddin is evidence that indicates the prime minister has ceased to command majority confidence among the MPs.

“In these circumstances, it is incumbent on the prime minister to tender his resignation and that of the cabinet, unless he requests the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament pursuant to Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution,” it said.

If Muhyiddin fails to tender his resignation, the committee said, the Agong may direct the prime minister to convene an immediate Parliament sitting without waiting to table a motion of confidence to prove he has the support of the majority.

'Any election should be avoided at this time'

If Muhyiddin refuses to do so, the Agong is entitled to dismiss him and appoint another MP who enjoys the support of the majority as prime minister, it added.

However, the committee said it agrees with the Harapan presidential council that any election should be avoided at this time, due to the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country.

The statement was jointly signed by the Pakatan Harapan legal committee members Selayang MP William Leong, Sepang MP Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh, Sungai Buloh MP Sivarasa Rasiah, Permatang Pasir MP Faiz Fadzil, PKR’s Fadhlina Sidek and Amanah’s Zulqarnain Lukman.

Previously, Idrus had said the determination of the majority cannot be done through statements but must be determined by individual MPs.

On July 7, Zahid had announced that Umno was withdrawing its support for Muhyiddin, and called for an interim government to take over.

The decision was endorsed by a majority of the Umno supreme council, though it is unclear if Zahid has the majority support of Umno’s 38 MPs.

But, as Muhyiddin only commands a four-seat majority, a small number of the 38 MPs is enough to topple the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

However, Zahid has stressed that Umno will not accept a Pakatan Harapan-led government as a replacement. - Mkini