Test unity pact in court if you don’t agree, opposition told

 

Fadillah Yusof said the main objective of the agreement among coalition parties was to ensure political stability. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Opposition parties that dispute the constitutionality of an agreement among members of the federal coalition government can test it in the courts, says deputy prime minister II Fadillah Yusof.

He said it was untrue that the agreement, to formalise the formation of the unity government, would pave the way for a dictatorship, as alleged by an MP earlier today.

Fadillah said the agreement clearly stated that all parties in the coalition government could still negotiate with each other to reach a consensus. Opposition parties which did not agree could take the matter to court.

“The agreement states that any party that is not satisfied (with an issue) must negotiate with all the parties that make up the unity government. To ensure political stability, we need to make sure that a vote of no confidence is not tabled against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

“We have had three prime ministers (since 2018) and one of the reasons is because of the vote of no confidence issue,” Bernama reported him as saying to the media in Kuching today.

Fadillah said the main objective of the agreement was to ensure political stability that in turn would bring about a positive impact on the people and the national economy, adding that he himself would be tabling the confidence motion on Monday.

He also hoped that the unity government would last the full term and focus on good governance.

In a statement earlier, Masjid Tanah MP Mas Ermieyati Samsudin claimed the agreement was a prelude to a dictatorship, adding that it was also illegal, dangerous and unenforceable.

Mas Ermieyati, who is vice-chief of Bersatu’s women’s wing, disputed the constitutionality of two clauses in the agreement.

One clause stated that all MPs were required to vote or support the prime minister on confidence motions, supply bills or procedural motions which could affect the government.

Another clause was that any government MP who failed to vote as instructed would be deemed to have vacated their parliamentary seat. - FMT