KUALA LUMPUR – Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had sought a fresh motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on September 25, according to parliamentary documents circulated today.
In his letter sent to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun, Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh had claimed that the motion was vital in determining the legitimacy of the current Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
He said the motion should be given priority in the next sitting to allow Muhyiddin to justify his claim of support in Parliament and relevance as prime minister.
“There are no provisions in our constitution that prevent this motion from being tabled in the House as a pressing matter,” Razaleigh had written.
“With respect, I seek guarantee that this no-confidence motion will be tabled in the next sitting as a priority.”
Tengku Razaleigh also noted that Muhyiddin had previously tried to disallow two similar motions against the prime minister to be tabled in Dewan Rakyat as they were listed at the end in the order paper.
The previous motions were initiated by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Langkawi), and by Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (Arau), Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh (Pasir Puteh) and Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (Sabak Bernam).
In a reply dated September 29, Azhar denied that the prime minister had refused to allow for the motions to be tabled, saying under the Dewan Rakyat Standing Order, priority should be given to government matters.
As such, other private motions would be listed accordingly, with motions that were submitted earlier to be tabled first in the House.
Azhar said Tengku Razaleigh could write in a notice to push for his motion, and the matter would be given due consideration.
“I have no issues for the House to consider private motions to be tabled, provided all government or emergency motions are completed,” he had said in his reply.
Razaleigh had an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara yesterday, after opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim informed the King of the purported support he had in bid to take over as prime minister.
Meanwhile, in response to the circulation of the letters, Azhar issued a statement tonight to stress that the standing orders on a motion of no confidence are not unique to Malaysia. They are almost similarly observed in Australia where the debate on such a motion would not be hastened without being first accepted by a minister.
"I wish to stress that I will implement in line with available laws whatever motion is made and notified to me or the Dewan Rakyat secretary in accordance to the standing orders," he said. – The Vibes, October 14, 2020
