‘PM should act in accordance with Constitution’

PETALING JAYA: After admitting he has lost majority support, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin must take the honourable route by acting in accordance with the Federal Constitution and resign unless – at his request – the King dissolves Parliament, says the Malaysian Bar.

Its president AG Kalidas said the Federal Constitution also did not state that the Prime Minister should first wait for another MP to demonstrate that he or she commands the majority support before tendering his or her resignation.

Kalidas said Muhyiddin’s excuse for not wanting to leave a governance and leadership vacuum if he were to resign was not a constitutionally legitimate reason.

In a televised address on Friday, Muhyiddin admitted that several MPS from the governing coalition had withdrawn their support for him, casting doubt on whether he still commanded majority Dewan Rakyat support.

However, he said that no other MPS could prove they had the majority support and that if he were to resign now amid the pandemic, the whole Cabinet would also go, leaving a vacuum of governance.

To avoid this, Muhyiddin offered an olive branch for some of the Opposition parties’ long-sought reforms such as limiting the prime ministerial term of service, introducing anti-party hopping laws and giving equal funding for Opposition MPS in exchange for their support.

Kalidas said the questions raised by Muhyiddin revealed a misunderstanding of his position under the Federal Constitution.

The provision of Article 43(4) said that if the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet.

“The words are clear and the meaning and intent are beyond doubt.

“The Federal Constitution also does not provide that the Prime Minister shall only tender the resignation of the Cabinet if there is another MP who has emerged who can demonstrate that he or she commands the confidence of the majority of the members of the Dewan Rakyat.

“The question of who else might be called upon to try to form a government and whether he or she has the requisite Parliamentary support and confidence, is one that is accorded under Article 43(2) of the Federal Constitution to the Yang di-pertuan Agong.

“It is therefore not the place of the Prime Minister to usurp that consideration to himself, or to pre-empt the decision and discretion of the Yang di-pertuan Agong.

“Neither is it the place of the Prime Minister to make that question the condition for his future actions,” said Kalidas in a statement yesterday.

He said Muhyiddin had repeatedly stated that he wanted to comply with the Federal Constitution and take the honourable route, stating he believed that “we will heal this nation together and bring back its glory”.

Kalidas said Muhyiddin could start this healing process by honouring the Federal Constitution and abiding strictly by its provisions.