THE resignation yesterday of a cabinet member and the withdrawal of support of 11 MPs have finally and conclusively established that the prime minister does not have the backing of at least 111 lawmakers, which is both a legal and political requirement for him to remain in office.
Accordingly, by virtue of our supreme law, that is Article 43(4) of the federal constitution, as the prime minister “ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the” Dewan Rakyat, the prime minister must immediately seek an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and “shall tender the resignation of the cabinet”. The prime minister has no other option. He cannot stubbornly cling on to office. His political ship has sunk.
The prime minister advising the Agong, also under Article 43(4), to dissolve Parliament and hold the 15th general election is not an option during the deadly Covid-19 epidemic ravaging Malaysians. Having general elections, with the vigorous campaigning associated with them, is criminally reckless at the present time.
In resolving this political crisis, we should learn the most fundamental error that occurred after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned as prime minister on February 24 last year. Rather than allowing the floor of the Dewan Rakyat to decide the political future of the nation – as the people’s elected representatives expressed in GE14 – the constitutional monarch in late February 2020 interviewed all MPs on their choice of a new prime minister to replace Dr Mahathir. That process did not produce a result: apparently, the most votes that a candidate received were 92, well short of the requisite number.
Thus, when the present prime minister was chosen by the Agong on March 1, 2020, he did not command the confidence of the majority of MPs. From his appointment until today, he has never enjoyed majority support in Parliament.
Hence, his reluctance for Parliament to sit, and the speaker’s refusal to table and vote on a motion of no confidence against the sitting prime minister. It is a miracle that he has somehow survived in office for some 17 months – but at what cost to our people and the nation?
The illegitimate origins of the prime minister’s hold on power must be kept in mind when considering the solution to the current political quagmire: they arose from inception, and have been worsening over time.
Therefore, another exercise by the head of state interviewing MPs should be avoided at all costs. It will only result in further political instability, and very much a repeat of the problems that have plagued us since February 24 last year.
In consequence, the only solution for the Agong is to direct the prime minister at their audience that he should remain temporarily in office (since the nation must at all times have a head of government), but the Dewan Rakyat should sit urgently, say, as early as Friday to deliberate on motions of no confidence or confidence, as the case may be. Such a direction from the palace must occur regardless of whether the prime minister resigns, simply because he has lost the confidence of the majority of MPs.
In this way, the 220 living MPs must debate, deliberate, horse-trade, bargain, and finally, reach a majority decision of at least 111 of them for our political future. This is done in most parliamentary democracies. There is nothing novel if this occurs. Parliamentarians are our elected leaders, and they must be allowed to openly and freely decide on the floor and in the corridors of the Dewan Rakyat the government that they desire. If the outcome is a grand coalition of all political parties under an acceptable prime minister, so much the better.
Never in our post-Merdeka history have we required so desperately a competent, professional, honest, accountable, listening and good government. With our Covid-19 cases surpassing a million, over 8,000 deaths, and the resulting health, economic, financial and social crises, we deserve a working, stable political coalition. It is the paramount duty of the 220 MPs to stitch together a working government that can take us out of this crisis. Give them an opportunity to exercise that responsibility for the public good. – The Vibes, August 4, 2021
Tan Sri Tommy Thomas is a former attorney-general
