KUALA LUMPUR – The tabling of a motion of confidence for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is number eight on the agenda on December 19 and 20 when the 15th Parliament begins.
In a notice on the upcoming sitting sent out to MPs, Dewan Rakyat Secretary Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin said that the lower house’s first order of business will be to elect its speaker.
The session will then proceed with the swearing in of elected lawmakers, the voting for the new deputy speakers, and the motion directing the inspector-general of police to provide free passage to MPs, with Anwar’s motion of confidence scheduled as the eighth item on the agenda.
The final item on the agenda is bills and other government business.
During his maiden press conference after being sworn in as prime minister on November 24, Anwar, who is also the Pakatan Harapan (PH) leader, said that he will table a vote of confidence to put to rest any concerns on his administration’s legitimacy.
He added that his unity government makes up the largest bloc in the Dewan Rakyat comprising lawmakers from PH, Barisan Nasional and Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
After Anwar was named as prime minister, Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin challenged him to prove that he has enough support via a vote of confidence. Muhyiddin had been claiming that he had the statutory declarations of 115 MPs backing him to form a government.
Anwar was appointed Malaysia’s 10th prime minister following nearly a week of political impasse in the nation stemming from the 15th general election resulting in no single coalition achieving the simple majority needed to form the federal government.
The current Dewan Rakyat speaker is Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, who was became speaker in July 2020 after Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin became prime minister. – The Vibes, December 1, 2022
