WHILE the passing of Budget 2021 yesterday ostensibly reflected support for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the reality is that dozens of motions of no confidence against him have been completely ignored.
As elucidated by observers and experts, the vote of support for the Budget can hardly be translated into backing for the prime minister, who is also Bersatu president.
Indeed, there are many other variables that may have also compelled the MPs who voted in favour of it.
These include the parliamentarians heeding the royal request from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the urgent need for money to be disbursed for the civil service and the funds that are imperative to battle Covid-19, to note a few.
The crux of the issue, however, is in the applications for the tabling of the motions. There are 26 applications for motions of no-confidence and two confidence votes.
Let’s also not forget, as opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had noted, the opposition’s role in Budget 2021 was not merely to oppose for its own sake, but the Budget at the third reading had reflected the narrow interests of the government in protecting its own political survival, rather than to serve the rakyat.
Moreover, Muhyiddin’s legitimacy has also been called to be questioned time and again, and rightfully so. When he took office earlier this year, he came into Putrajaya without any clear mandate or manifesto to deliver. He has also shied away from giving press conferences to the media. Since he took office 10 months ago, he has addressed the media only once.
Last week, Law Minister Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan told Parliament that the government will not give precedence to motions of no-confidence against Muhyiddin as these were no indications the prime minister has lost majority support. But can Muhyiddin absolutely confirm this without any doubt?
As the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding.
A curious constituent asked an MP to explain the current “one person majority” of Muhyiddin’s Perikatan National government, a loose coalition riddled with infighting, as evident in the recent Perak menteri besar crisis.
Explaining the “majority”, the MP noted that there were currently 220 MPs owing to the deaths of two parliamentarians who have yet to be replaced as by-elections were suspended.
The Budget vote yesterday saw the government obtain 111 votes versus 108 of the opposition. Save for the sole absent MP, Tengku Raleigh Hamzah, the government more likely had a one-person majority, the MP noted.
It would have taken only one additional MP defection from one PN parliamentarian to the opposition and the country would have a hung parliament.
If yesterday’s vote was anything to go by, it is that Muhyiddin has an ultra razor-thin majority, making his position and leadership extremely tenuous. In other words, it is a sign of a very weak government, not of a crumbling opposition.
Despite this, the Dewan Rakyat speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun has remained obstinate, resolutely standing by his justification for not entertaining any of these proposals.
Azhar has presented a bevy of excuses in order to stem the motions, varying from the requirements of a cabinet member to propose it right up to the speaker of the house’s powerlessness in deciding whether to give priority to a confidence motion.
But even Azhar knows that the whole country is fixated on this one issue of the support for Muhyiddin, who is said to have taken power via the backdoor approach, both by local and foreign observers.
This is precisely why the poser over Muhyiddin’s leadership needs to be tested once and for all.
A confidence vote for the country’s leadership is paramount to bolster confidence for investment, especially from overseas. We have seen this with Fitch Ratings’ downgrade for Malaysia’s credit rating from A- to BBB+ recently.
The vote will also assure domestic and international agencies, as well as the private sector, that the executive branch of the country is kept in check by the legislature.
If Muhyiddin wants us to believe that his government is one that truly cares for the people, he must allow the vote of confidence to take place to put the matter to rest. – The Vibes, December 16, 2020
