KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today lambasted the actions of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for not allowing the motion of no-confidence against the latter to be debated in the coming parliamentary sitting.

In a special May 9 address today in conjunction with the anniversary of Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) triumph at the 14th general election in 2018, Dr Mahathir said such moves by the ruling administration, including the one-day parliamentary sitting on May 18 and not allowing any motion to be brought forward, are eroding democracy in the country. 

Dr Mahathir explained that this was pertinent as he claimed Muhyiddin no longer commanded the majority in the Dewan Rakyat, pointing to alleged statements by Umno as a party that it does not support PN.

Instead, Dr Mahathir pointed out that Umno’s individual lawmakers only voiced their support for Muhyiddin as the prime minister, with the real objective of bringing down the PH administration.

"If we want to say the Perikatan Nasional government, Perikatan Nasional actually does not exist. But if in the Dewan sitting, [Muhyiddin] does not have majority support, it means that he does not deserve to be prime minister.

"To prevent that, he does not allow us to convene and only conducts the sitting for one day only, we cannot bring forward any motion. So this is blocking the democratic process,” he said.

Dr Mahathir added it is the people’s mandate that dictates the elected representatives of their choice who then choose the prime minister.

"This is not democratic. If previously Najib’s administration is said to have been thieves and kleptocrats, then Muhyiddin’s government, by not allowing us the opportunity to debate in the Dewan, is not a democratic government but a partial dictatorship,” he said, referring to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"I hope the people understand what is happening,” he added.

In a letter dated May 4 that Malay Mail sighted, former prime minister Dr Mahathir notified Parliament of his intention to table a motion of no-confidence against his successor.

The motion had been complemented by Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal’s motion of confidence for Dr Mahathir, which Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof rejected after deeming it to be unconstitutional.