KUALA LUMPUR – Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau said the indefinite adjournment of the special Parliament sitting has placed the government in a deeply precarious position.
Article 43(4) of the federal constitution can be invoked if more lawmakers follow Gua Musang MP Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in changing their seating positions from among government backbenchers to the independents’ bench, he said in a statement today.
The said article stipulates that if the prime minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of MPs, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has the power to order Parliament’s dissolution.
“Once that happens, the prime minister loses majority support, the government is certain to collapse.”
The United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation president said the incoming government should implement the following four-point solution to build stability and regain public confidence:
1. Come up with a confidence and supply agreement with the opposition;
2. Establish another 13 parliamentary special select committees to mirror each ministry’s portfolio;
3. Guarantee civil liberties and transparency to allow for the effective participation of civil society organisations in the formulation of public policies; and,
4. Set up a second intergovernmental consultative committee involving all states, including Sabah and Sarawak, which are keen to implement the Malaysia Agreement 1963, to enable the decentralisation of power and governance to lower tiers of the government.
“I believe the implementation of the four-point solution is crucial in our effort to address the present stalemate, and all other impediments to political stability and public confidence in the incoming government,” said Madius. –The Vibes, August 1, 2021
