Muhyiddin is running a minority gov't, claims Pasir Gudang MP

As long as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin fails to prove his majority support in Parliament, he is running a minority government with only temporary legitimacy, says Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim.

"Muhyiddin must at the earliest opportunity prove that he has enough parliamentarians' support to show that his government is a majority government, with a simple majority of 112 MPs.

"As long as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has not passed the test of the no-confidence motion which has been submitted to the Dewan Rakyat and accepted by the Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, Muhyiddin's status remains the prime minister of a minority government and a minority government is only temporary in its legitimacy," said Hassan (photo) in a statement today.

He said that tomorrow, May 18 is an important date as it would witness the opening address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the first meeting of the third session of the fourteenth Parliament, which is a symbol of democracy functioning in Malaysia, a democratic, free, sovereign country that upholds the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution.

"Muhyiddin was appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as Prime Minister on March 1, 2020, under the provisions of Article 43 (2) (a) of the Federal Constitution - which states - '' the Yang di-Pertuan Agong must first appoint as Prime Minister an MP who in the judgment of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is “likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Dewan Rakyat.

Hassan, who formerly practised as a full-time lawyer, said that the standard definition used in Article 43 (2) (a) is subjective measure rather than objective due to the term "is likely to command".

"Muhyiddin Yassin must go through an objective test of facing the motion for a vote of no-confidence by Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad."

Hassan said he humbly, respectfully and civilly believed that Muhyiddin could not solely base his government's legitimacy only on the grounds that he was appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Article 43 (2) (a) because Malaysia is a dual-functioning democratic country with a Constitutional Monarchy and Parliamentary democracy.

"Malaysia does not practice absolute monarchy. Article 43 (2) (a) is a recognition on the authority of the royal institution in Malaysia, but that power is not complete and not absolute in the matter of appointing a Prime Minister.

"This is because Article 46 (1) of the Federal Constitution expressly refers to the Assembly Membership: '' The House of Representatives shall consist of two hundred and twenty-two elected members. '' The keyword here is the word '' elected ''. Elected means elected by the people in the ballot.

"Therefore this is the recognition of the Federal Constitution of the power of the people. Parliamentary democracy is born of the ballot box and elections - the power of the people who actually choose the government," he added.

Hassan said as a Member of Parliament, he sincerely called on Muhyiddin Yassin to immediately resolve the issue of the legitimacy of his government by proving he had the support of the majority of MPs.

"The sooner the better as any constitutional crisis will be to the detriment of the people and the country. We need to get up and move on from this," he said. - Mkini