YOURSAY | Parliament the best way to test PM's majority, not SDs

YOURSAY | 'On this crucial matter, the ball is fully in the royal court.'

Decide in Parliament if Anwar lost majority - PKR MP

Vijay47: We are in quite a pretty parliamentary pickle here regarding the matter of whether the prime minister commands majority confidence and how such a conclusion is to be determined.

The actual (abridged) relevant wording of Article 43(2) is “the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint as prime minister a member of the House of Representatives who in his judgement is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House”.

Simple? Far from it.

Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim holds that the majority should be decided in a showdown at the OK Corral of Parliament while the other side states that the majority or otherwise can also be proven in any other convenient ranch by statutory declarations (SDs).

As an aside, it must be mentioned that the Federal Constitution does not refer to any creature called SD; then again, it does not prohibit SDs either. So who is right?

Of course, convention and perhaps ethics or honour demand that Parliament itself be the venue for the confrontation.

After all, it is from Parliament that the entire persona of the prime minister emanates. Thus counting the numbers in Parliament may be ideal but again, alternate options are not excluded.

If members met at Kedai Kopi Ah Chong and Ah Chong personally counted the individual positions, his list in the 555 booklets would be valid if the Agong so decides.

On this crucial matter, the ball is fully in the royal court; remember, the Constitution says “in the Agong’s judgement”. In his supreme authority, His Majesty can decree that SDs or even Buku 555 are sufficient evidence or he can throw both out and state that his judgement can be persuaded only by a vote in Parliament.

Right now, both sides are trying to show a cool front. But Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi suddenly scurrying off to Sabah does suggest that some panic has set in within the Madani camp.

Would High Noon on the Ides of March be on Jan 31?

IndigoSwan6963: Malaysians have had enough of this nonsense from politicians from both sides of the divide.

You were all elected to represent your constituents. Whether you are in the government or the opposition, please focus on issues affecting the rakyat and the community.

If you think that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has failed in his duties, we have a Parliament where you can choose to either support his agenda for the country or reject it.

To always harp on changing the government will land us nowhere but a big “F” in terms of governance and the rule of law must be respected.

This movement to derail the prime minister and to remove him is always there.

As for Anwar, he is never secure should he continue to play to the tune of the opposition.

If he wishes to be a religious teacher, we respect that.

But for him to be the prime minister, he must be seen to be the prime minister for all Malaysians and not just Muslims.

Remember, Malaysia is a secular nation. The non-Muslims are already losing faith in him.

The more he panders to the Muslims only, he will lose the non-Muslim votes. Our Malay-Muslim brethren know why they like or dislike him.

I see that he has lost the majority of the Malay-Muslim votes and is trying hard to win them over.

He appoints incompetent leaders as ministers.

Should he continue to encourage Malay Muslims to behave like Arab Muslims, he is looking for big trouble for himself.

All parties associated with him will be affected and will have second thoughts about supporting him to be the prime minister. 

Apanama is back: Yes, Anwar should prove he has the majority once again in Dewan Rakyat.  

I suggest he does it after Jan 31. This will put a stop to this backdoor talking, speculation, and so on once and for all.  

No need for Perikatan Nasional to bring the motion of confidence.

If Anwar is confident enough with his number, 153 which is considered as strong, convincing and formidable, I do not think it will be an issue.

He will sail through the confidence vote with flying colours.  

So what are you waiting for, Anwar? Fix a date and go for it.

Remember, a prime minister should be able to take up any challenges.

Do not say that since the other side started it, they need to move the motion.

Even if they do not move a motion, the prime minister has the responsibility to prove that he still enjoys the same amount of an increased majority since the last voice votes on Dec 19, 2022.

Freethinker: What can the Pakatan Harapan-led government do to ensure stability?  

What if Perikatan Nasional keeps calling for a vote of confidence in every Parliamentary session or even claims to have enough MP support through SDs?  

Our democracy is being called a joke that anyone can claim they have the numbers using a paper without going through Parliament when such a test should be taken.

Yes, there should be boundaries on how often the vote of confidence can be called.

The opposition, unlike the BN government before, has only one thing to do. That is to claim they have numbers without being tested in Parliament.  

Why can’t we go by midterm vote of confidence (every two years) instead of every other month?

AnotherGoodYr: Yes, correct. A vote of no confidence should be the order of the day, the correct way for the opposition to prove their point.  

Why don't they dare do it?

Because that will put an end to their “topple, topple, topple”, or “langkah” just to create political instability to drive foreign direct investments (FDIs) away.  

Anwar is fully aware of the games being played by PN, and he does not want to waste time reacting to them.  

If PN’s claims are true, then show it in Parliament, a motion for a vote of no confidence.  

More so, the incoming Agong, if presented with a piece of paper with statutory declarations, should insist that it be shown in Parliament for all, including the rakyat, to see.

Simple Truth: Hassan is right. SDs should never again be allowed as a precedent to determine the support of a sitting prime minister.

This is the most ridiculous and undemocratic form of determining leadership.

It has cost us a democratically elected government once through the Sheraton move SDs should never again be used!

Having it determined in Parliament is the most democratic way!

Blue Lights: Hassan, please do not fall into the enemy's trap, they want Anwar and the unity government to panic.

Why hold another confidence vote in Parliament?

It was already done not too long ago. Every time a member of the opposition claims to have got the SDs, they must call for a vote.

This is silly and a waste of precious time. Just get on with the job of saving the economy which was ruined by the previous government.

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