Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan has proposed a special Dewan Rakyat session be held this month to determine whether Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has a majority.
He said the confidence vote ought to be done before the full Sept 6-30 sitting.
He also revealed that Umno had a “strategy” up its sleeve and assured the party will not work with Pakatan Harapan.
This came amid Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s recent offensive against Muhyiddin. At least 13 party MPs have officially withdrawn support for the PM.
In an online talk show last night, Ahmad Maslan (above) opined that it was “not suitable” to wait until the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal address on Sept 6 to defeat Muhyiddin.
“If we have a no-confidence vote for the PM during His Majesty’s address and he loses. I don’t think that is suitable.
“I propose we have an earlier sitting before that to determine the PM’s position so this matter is resolved before the (official) session is officiated by the Agong. This is more suitable. This is not just my proposal but the Umno supreme council’s proposal too.
“Maybe the right time is Aug 15 or in the middle of August. So that we have about two weeks (before the full sitting) to determine the new PM,” he said on the “Politik Umno Terkini” (latest Umno politics) programme on the NRChannelTV Facebook page.
Muhyiddin previously said he was prepared to face a confidence vote during the September sitting.
Ahmad Maslan’s suggestion echoes that of Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said, who urged the PM to call for an earlier special sitting to determine the legitimacy of his Perikatan Nasional government.
Azalina is one of the Umno lawmakers who has retracted support for Muhyiddin.
Meanwhile, the Pontian MP said it was up to the Agong to appoint the new PM.
Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution stipulates that His Majesty shall appoint as PM a member of the Dewan Rakyat who in his judgement is likely to command the confidence of the majority of members in the House.
Ahmad Maslan also reiterated the supreme council’s previous call that a general election should be held once herd immunity against Covid-19 is achieved.
Umno MPs won't back Harapan
Asked by host Rafi Awg Kechik about Umno’s game plan, Ahmad Maslan stressed that it did not involve working with Harapan but declined to furnish details.
“It is not true (we will work with Harapan and DAP). Because they don’t have a majority. They only have 105 (MPs), they haven't reached 111 (MPs).
“And Umno will not support them. The 15 (MPs) from Umno will not support them.
“The president (Zahid) will not bring them to support (Harapan). This is true. As for what will happen, that is our strategy and we will not tell the public,” he added.
Ahmad Maslan also disclosed that Zahid had met several party lawmakers recently to assure them of the party’s game plan.
“The president swore before several MPs that he would not support (opposition chief) Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister and he would not be with Harapan or DAP.
“I was there. It was just in the past day or two. Therefore these allegations against him (Zahid) are baseless,” he said.
- Mkini
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