DECISIVE SITTING?
However, Dr M’s motion against Muhyiddin may not be tabled soon
TODAY, the Dewan Rakyat will be in session for the first time since Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin became prime minister. Several motions are expected to be tabled, but it is unlikely that private motions by members of the opposition will be given priority.
THERE are a few things to look out for in this Dewan Rakyat session, which kicks off today, the first full sitting under the government led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
All eyes would be on item 27 of the Order Paper — the tabling of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s no-confidence motion against Muhyiddin (Bersatu-Pagoh).
However, as it is widely known, private motions by members of the opposition are not given priority in the august house and so, the controversial motion would unlikely see the light of day this week.
“Maybe it won’t be tabled this month or even during this session because there are a number of government bills that need to be tabled first,” Universiti Utara Malaysia’s political analyst Professor Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani told the New Straits Times yesterday.
“No. 27 is quite far down in the Order Paper and whether or not the no-confidence motion will be brought forward will depend on the speaker’s discretion.”
What’s interesting are the three other motions right after Dr Mahathir’s.
The three motions by Dr Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh (PasPasir Puteh), Datuk Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (Bersatu-Sabak Bernam) and Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim (Umno-Arau) are similar and the purpose is to congratulate and welcome Muhyiddin’s appointment as prime minister.
While this may produce more chatter among Malaysians who might be wondering what these three motions mean, Universiti Malaya’s Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi explained that it was the current government’s way of telling Dr Mahathir that his motion would fail.
“It means Muhyiddin is saying that he has the majority in the Dewan Rakyat and Dr Mahathir’s no-confidence motion will either not be brought up at all or it will fail to get the necessary votes to topple the prime minister,” he said.
“Of course, this is not final because the government is obviously preempting the actual result.”
Regardless, one thing for sure is that the motions to replace Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff and his deputy, Nga
Kor Ming (DAP-Teluk Intan), with former Election Commission chairman Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun and Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (Umno-Pengerang) will be tabled today.
According to items three and five of the Order Paper, the motions to appoint Azhar and Azalina would be tabled by Muhyiddin.
The prime minister had said that the duo agreed to their appointments should they be nominated and elected by lawmakers in the Lower House.
For the record, second deputy speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon (Bersatu-Batu Pahat) is not affected by the motion.
Pakatan Harapan and several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including G25 and Bersih, had expressed disagreement with the motion and called for Ariff and Nga to be retained as speaker and deputy speaker.
Although it appears that Muhyiddin commands a majority support in the Dewan Rakyat, albeit a slim one, there is a slight chance that his motion could be rejected by the House due to the uncertainty in the loyalty of some members of parliament.
Lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla said Muhyiddin’s motions were akin to a double-edged sword — it could either help him or hurt him.
“If Muhyiddin succeeds, fine, he gets what he wants but if he fails, to me, in the realm of constitutionality and administrative law, it can amount to a vote of noconfidence.”
Political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat, however, said legislative defeat did not amount to a loss of confidence.
“As politics get more fragmented and government backbenchers more rebellious, it makes no sense for contemporary governments to resign over every legislative defeat,” he said in his column.
It is also expected that Muhyiddin would table a motion to replace members of the Parliamentary Select Committee today.
The current members of the Select Committee are Muhyiddin, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (Umno-Bera), Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKRPandan), Mohamad Sabu (Amanah– Kota Raja), Datuk Ignatius Darell Leiking (WarisanPenampang) and Tan Kok Wai (DAP-Cheras).
Allies-turned-enemies Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PH-Port Dickson) and Datuk Seri Azmin Ali (Bersatu-Gombak) would be sitting in the committee together, aside from Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin (Bersatu-Larut), Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (Umno-Bagan Datuk), Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof (GPSPetra Jaya) and Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (Pas-Marang).
Other bills expected to be tabled are the Poisons (Amendment) Bill 2019, Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission Bill 2019 and the long-awaited Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2019, which will change the legal voting age from 21 to 18.
All three bills would be tabled for the second reading by Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (Umno-Pontian).
Other matters expected to be debated include issues related to Covid-19, the state of the economy, the Rohingya community, illegal immigrants, cybersecurity and discounts on assessment rates.
The Dewan Rakyat will sit for 25 days starting today until Aug 27.
Page 1 pic: Personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department’s Hazardous Material Unit sanitising the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.