Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin confirmed that he wouldn’t resign even though many people urged him. However, he said he would face a no-confidence vote when parliament convenes in September. Malaysian political tension increased after Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah reprimanded the Muhyiddin government.
At the end of last July, one of Muhyiddin’s ministers lifted the state of emergency without consulting parliament. Malaysia’s king has accused Muhyiddin’s government of not notifying parliament, with anti-government protests taking place over the weekend. The situation got even more complicated after Tuesday (August 3, 2021), the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) announced the withdrawal of support.
The resignation of UMNO, the largest party in Muhyiddin’s National Association coalition, caused Muhyiddin to lose majority status. Muhyiddin Yassin responded by holding a meeting with several of his top advisers before visiting the State Palace.
“To Agong, I informed that I received a declaration that I had the support of the majority,” he said.
“Therefore, the insistence that I resign according to the constitution didn’t happen,” he said. Even so, the Malaysian PM from March 2020 will face a vote of no confidence, with the king agreeing to his proposal.
As reported by The Star and Channel News Asia, Wednesday (August 4, 2021), Muhyiddin believes he can prove majority support for him in parliament in the vote of confidence.
This statement was made by Muhyiddin, after holding an audience with the King of Malaysia or Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah, at the State Palace on Wednesday (August 4).
“I realize that my position as Prime Minister is always being questioned,” said Muhyiddin in his statement after meeting Sultan Abdullah.
During the hearing, Sultan Abdullah told Muhyiddin that eight MPs from the UMNO party had written to the parliament’s speaker about withdrawing support for him. UMNO is known to be a member of the Perikatan Nasional government coalition led by Muhyiddin.
Muhyiddin also mentioned that he had received statutory declarations (SD) from several parliamentarians who support him.
“During the hearing, I informed the King that I had received several SDs from the MPs, which gave me confidence that I still have the majority at this time,” he said.
“Thus, my resignation under article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution doesn’t appear,” said Muhyiddin, with his cabinet ministers standing behind him.
According to Muhyiddin, Sultan Abdullah accepted his proposal on the motion of confidence to prove the majority support he still has in parliament.
To note, a vote of confidence is a motion that states that the people’s representatives trust the government’s policies. A vote of confidence is usually put forward by the government against a motion of no confidence.
