Ku Li seeks priority for vote of no-confidence against PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 -- Gua Musang MP Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has requested priority to be given to a motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister in the Dewan Rakyat that had been left unattended due to discussion of government matters.

This call was made via a letter addressed to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun, which was shared with the media today.

Tengku Razaleigh's letter, dated Sept 25, refers to a motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that was submitted by Langkawi MP Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the Parliament sitting in May and carried over to the July session.

Tengku Razaleigh was of the view that the motion is important in ensuring that the Prime Minister gains the trust of the Dewan Rakyat in accordance with Article 43 of the Federal Constitution.

“In terms of the constitution, there is no provision in the Standing Orders that can prevent this motion from being tabled as an urgent priority in this respected House,” the UMNO veteran, who has been MP since 1974, said.

“With all due respect, I request for an assurance that this motion of vote of no confidence will be given priority in the upcoming sitting,” Tengku Razaleigh said.

Based on the letter, Tengku Razaleigh said the proposer of the motion had claimed that the Prime Minister had twice disallowed the motion to be debated by listing it towards the end of the Order Paper, which ended up unattended.

Subsequent to Tengku Razaleigh’s letter, Azhar had issued a reply on Sept 29, which among others stated the claim that the Prime Minister had not allowed the motion to be debated was untrue and explained that the order of the last meeting was made by former Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Mohd Yusof.

“As YBM Tan Sri (Tengku Razaleigh) is aware, Standing Order 15 of Dewan Rakyat states that government matters take priority.''

''As such, all matters regarding government bills and motions have been prioritised during the Second Meeting, Third Term, 14th Parliament from July 13 to August 27, 2020,'' said Azhar.

Azhar explained that private members’ motion, including for a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister by the Langkawi MP as well as the vote of confidence by the Pasir Puteh, Sabak Bernam and Arau MPs are listed based on the time they were received. 

Tengku Razaleigh’s letter being revealed comes a day after the Gua Musang MP had an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara.  

Yesterday, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was granted an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara to inform His Majesty that he had the support of more than 120 MPs to form a new federal government.

Meanwhile, a source close to Tengku Razaleigh, when asked why the letter was only revealed now said: “Written reply from (the) Speaker is not satisfactory and vote of no confidence is still relevant.”

He also said the intention was to let the rakyat know the situation vis-a-vis the constitution as the Federal Constitution is supreme.

-- BERNAMA