PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his Cabinet must resign as they have lost the confidence of the people, former Barisan Nasional MP Dominic Puthucheary said.
“The King ‘s decision yesterday means that the Cabinet has also breached its oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Federal Constitution,” said Puthucheary, who is also a constitutional lawyer.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, after consulting other Malay Rulers, said there was no need to declare a state of emergency as the government was doing well in managing the Covid-19 crisis.
He also urged MPs to guard against “irresponsible actions which can affect the stability of the government” and emphasised the importance of Budget 2021, which will be tabled on Nov 6.
There had been speculation earlier in the week that MPs might vote against the budget, which would automatically lead to the resignation of Muhyiddin and his Cabinet.
Over the weekend, politicians, civil society, individuals, academicians and the legal fraternity had voiced their disagreement over the proposal by the government for the King to proclaim an emergency to combat the pandemic.
Puthucheaery, who was Nibong Tebal MP for a term from 1995, said this was the first time in the nation’s history that the King had refused the prime minister’s request to put the entire country or part of it in a state of emergency since independence.
He said the Muhyiddin and his Cabinet had lost the people’s confidence because they had made an attempt to cast aside the Federal Constitution, the supreme law of the land to administer the nation.
Further, he said, Muhyiddin’s legitimacy had come under question as he refused to submit to a “no confidence” motion in March.
“The coalition that he is leading now did not get the mandate of the people in the May 2018 general election,” he added. - FMT
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