KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin (PN-Larut) has slammed the motion of confidence tabled by Fadillah Yusof (GPS-Petra Jaya) in Parliament, calling it a “gimmick”.
“We realise that the motion is a mere gimmick, even more so after the coalition leaders forming the unity government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU),” he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was referring to the MoU signed by political leaders on Friday to state their support for the unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
One of the conditions set under the MoU is that every party in the unity government must ensure that their MPs support Anwar and his administration in any confidence motion or bills in the Dewan Rakyat.
In addition, any MP who fails to toe the line as set by his or her party and, instead, votes against the prime minister or the government will be deemed to have resigned as an MP.
It added that the MP’s seat is then essentially vacated, citing Article 49A(1) of the Constitution. Article 49A(1) states that a member of a political party who was elected to Parliament “shall cease to be a member of the (House of Representatives)” and that the member’s seat “shall become vacant immediately” if such a member resigns his or her party membership or ceases to be a member.
The Larut MP criticised the MoU, claiming that it was a threat to parliamentary democracy as it demanded all MPs in the unity government to vote in accordance with the direction of the prime minister.
“It goes against the basic principle of parliamentary democracy as guaranteed under the Federal Constitution and the laws of Malaysia,” he said, adding that it was
“invalid and illegal”.
“If an MP’s freedom of expression can be curtailed just like that, what more the freedom of the people to do the same?” he added. - FMT
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