Use Parliament to decide who becomes PM, urges Bar

PETALING JAYA: The question of who enjoys majority support to become the prime minister should be answered only in Parliament, and not through any other means.

Describing the current political turmoil as unprecedented in Malaysia, Malaysian Bar president Datuk Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor said any attempt otherwise to form a backdoor government must be avoided, especially if it negates the electorate’s aspirations.

“If indeed PH has lost its majority, efforts must be made to ascertain who is able to command the confidence of the majority in the Dewan Rakyat, to be appointed PM.

“The way forward is to have this matter determined by the Dewan when it reconvenes in March. A vote of confidence or otherwise could be taken and debated regarding the interim prime minister.

“We caution against the reliance on statutory declarations (SDs) to determine the support of MPs, since the authenticity of SDs can be disputed,” he said in a statement yesterday.

There have been reports earlier this month that 138 MPs have signed statutory declarations calling for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to serve a full term as premier.

However, following a day of intense political manoeuvrings, Mahathir resigned as prime minister on Monday, only to be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the interim premier, until a new one is appointed.

Abdul Fareed said political stability was essential at a time when the economy was not doing well and called on all parties to behave in a calm and mature manner.

“The interest of the nation and its people should prevail over all other personal or partisan interests,” he said.