Umno Youth chief: No choice but dissolution if Muhyiddin' motions fail

Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said there would be no choice but to dissolve Parliament if Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's motions to replace the Dewan Rakyat speaker and deputy speaker with Perikatan Nasional's own choice fail.

Asyraf (above) said this in reference to Muhyiddin's four motions in the Dewan Rakyat tomorrow, namely to remove Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof as the speaker and replace him with Azhar Azizan Harun, to remove Teluk Intan MP Nga Kor Ming as deputy speaker and replace him with Pegerang MP Azalina Othman.

"If it fails, it means PN no longer has the legitimacy and majority to continue with governing.

"Therefore, the government has no choice but to seek an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament," he said in a Facebook post.

However, Asyraf said he hoped that the PN government can be maintained in the interest of the people.

According to the previous Dewan Rakyat sitting, Muhyiddin had the support of 113 MPs in the 222-member House.

Since then, Sri Gading MP Shahruddin Md Salleh had quit the government and will likely side with the opposition but this is cancelled out by Lubuk Antu MP Jugah Muyang quitting PKR to become a PN-friendly independent.

PN is comprised of Bersatu, BN, PAS, GPS, PBS, STAR and former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali's G10.

Pakatan Harapan has 91 MPs while a third bloc comprising Bersatu rebels, Warisan and PSB has 18 MPs. Both blocs are opposed to changing the Dewan Rakyat speaker and deputy speaker.

A number of motions from both the government and opposition have been submitted to the Dewan Rakyat to determine whether Muhyiddin still enjoys majority support but they are unlikely to come up tomorrow as they are placed far down the list in the Order Paper.

By convention, government motions always get priority.

However, Muhyiddin's motion on the Dewan Rakyat speaker and deputy speaker is now seen as a proxy confidence vote.

If Muhyiddin fails to rally enough MPs to remove Ariff and Nga, it could reflect on his lack of support in the House. Conversely, if he succeeds, Muhyiddin would be on a stronger footing.

The Harapan government collapsed in late February after Muhyiddin pulled Bersatu out and formed a new coalition with PKR defectors, BN, PAS, GPS, PBS and STAR.

Muhyiddin was sworn in as the new prime minister after his mentor-turned-rival Dr Mahathir Mohamad refused to lead the new PN coalition as he adamantly refused to work with Umno. - Mkini