Rogue ministers who penned letter to Agong should resign: expert

KUALA LUMPUR – The 12 Perikatan Nasional (PN) ministers who penned a letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong opposing an immediate dissolution of Parliament should, by convention, resign from the cabinet immediately, according to a constitutional expert.

This is because the move can be construed as acting in contempt of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and that they no longer support the Bera MP.

Universiti Malaysia Pahang associate professor Datuk Wan Ahmad Fauzi Wan Husain said this is not too dissimilar to if a government MP voted against a Parliament bill.

By right, they must resign from the cabinet for going against the prime minister,” Fauzi told The Vibes.

Yesterday, The Vibes had reported that all 12 PN cabinet members had submitted a letter to the king on Monday expressing their objection over the proposed holding of the election amid the monsoon season. 

Out of the 12 PN ministers, 10 are MPs, while two are senators.

Ismail Sabri currently has the support of 117 MPs, including three independents, while the opposition has 103. Two seats are presently vacant.

If the backing of the 10 PN MPs are pulled, this leaves Ismail Sabri with the support of just 107 lawmakers – four short of the 111 required for a simple majority.

In such an event, Fauzi said this would ultimately mean the prime minister no longer commands the confidence of the Dewan Rakyat.

If the Yang di-Pertuan Agong denies his request to dissolve Parliament to pave the way for a general election, the prime minister will then have no choice but to tender not only his resignation but that of his entire cabinet. This is in accordance with Article 43(4) of the federal constitution.

Alternatively, Fauzi said the prime minister can seek a vote of confidence, if he is convinced he can gather enough numbers to remain in power.

The academic added that if Ismail Sabri fails to prove he has the majority’s backing, the king can then decide whether to appoint a new prime minister or to dissolve Parliament.

“This would then defeat the very purpose of the PN ministers’ decision to write to the palace.

They should have thought about the repercussions of their action.”

Granted, Fauzi noted, that even if the Agong agrees to dissolve Parliament, he can still decide to postpone the holding of the general election until after the monsoon period is over, by way of an emergency declaration.

“This (emergency) is necessary as the constitution requires the vacancy of the House to be filled within 60 days, meaning that if the dissolution takes effect this month, the election will have to be conducted within two months,” he said

An emergency declaration will allow the polls to be postponed to a future date.

According to Fauzi, any MP can also raise this issue of Ismail Sabri’s majority support in the lower House, provided it is not dissolved today as rumoured.

With the budget scheduled to be tabled this evening, it is still anybody’s guess if Parliament will be dissolved by then.

Ismail Sabri had an audience with the Agong yesterday. However, the palace did not indicate if the dissolution of Parliament and the date of the election were discussed.

The palace in a statement merely said it was a regular pre-cabinet meeting.

This comes amid talk that the prime minister is being pressured by Umno’s top leaders to dissolve Parliament immediately to pave the way for an election before the end of the year – a move that has courted controversy, as the general election will then be held during the rainy season. – The Vibes, October 7, 2022