Law minister: Perikatan prepared to face no-confidence motion with support from ‘more than 114 MPs’

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is prepared to face a motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin if it is tabled in Parliament, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said today.

The minister in charge of law and Parliament said in the event that such a motion is moved in the Dewan Rakyat, the government has no qualms about it and is more than prepared to face such circumstances, claiming it has the support of more than 114 MPs.

“There is no issue in the government being afraid to face such a motion in Parliament. If there is such a motion, I think the government is prepared to face it, not a problem.

“We are confident because this is provided in the Federal Constitution and this government was formed in accordance with the Constitution.

“If the Opposition could prove that the Prime Minister and the government have lost the House’s majority and a change in government is in tow, the Constitutions also provide the means to it,” he said during RTM’s Bicara Naratif programme here tonight.

Takiyuddin also went as far to claim that the government would have the support of more than 114 MPs if such a motion is tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.

“Earlier some portals confirmed that there were 114 government MPs, that was the one announced. If there were a vote, I am confident there will be more than that [supporting the government],” he said.

In the half-day sitting today, 114 MPs sat with the government bloc, but at least one of them, Sri Aman MP Datuk Masir Kujat, has now insisted on supporting the Opposition.

However, Takiyuddin also described the current Opposition bloc as one of the “strongest” in Malaysian history as far as he could recall.

He also said it was not necessarily to bring a motion of no-confidence to Parliament, explaining that as such a move could also be tabled in the respective state assemblies, before citing the change in state governments in Johor, Perak and most recently Kedah.

Earlier today, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad expressed hope that MPs from both sides of the political divide will come to their senses and support him when he moves his motion of no-confidence against Muhyiddin.

Dr Mahathir had previously filed a motion for a vote of no-confidence against Muhyiddin, but today’s Dewan Rakyat sitting did not feature any debates and was limited to just the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal address.

It is likely that Dr Mahathir’s motion will be tabled in the next Parliament session scheduled to begin on July 13 until August 27, spanning a total of 25 days.