KUALA LUMPUR – Instead of seeking an emergency declaration, the government should have put forward a motion of confidence in support of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, said Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Umno president said the Dewan Rakyat is the best place to test MPs’ confidence in the prime minister.
If this is made difficult by the Standing Orders, which state that government bills are to be prioritised over those by private members, then Putrajaya must make the necessary adjustments so that the motion is treated as a government priority, he said.
“Let the government itself make the motion of confidence a government motion that should be given priority in the Dewan,” he said when debating Budget 2021.
Earlier, the Bagan Datuk MP said he would not be able to hide his regret had the government succeeded in having an emergency declared under Article 150 of the federal constitution.
“The emergency proclamation is not a choice, and even the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Conference of Rulers have rejected it. Any attempt to proclaim a nationwide emergency in any form must be rejected by members of the Dewan.”
However, he said, the people have accepted the emergency declared in Batu Sapi, which effectively calls off the Sabah constituency’s December 5 by-election.
“We understand that proclamation.”
In a veiled jab at Muhyiddin, Zahid said there must “be honesty in politics, whether as political allies or in the name of support”.
He called for the country’s political mandate to be returned to the people.
“Ideally, the involvement of the people (in the mandate) should be given priority. It should be returned to the people as soon as possible.
“The voice of the people is sacred. From the people we are given the mandate, and to the people we also deliver the mandate.” – The Vibes, November 19, 2020
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