As the confused nation gears up for the swearing-in of our eighth Prime Minister, wondering what the reasons were behind the sudden rush, I would like to highlight one important point.
I have said this before and I will say it again.
If it is unclear that the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, has ceased to command the confidence of the majority, then he should be challenged by way of a vote of no confidence in the Dewan Rakyat, where the Members of Parliament (MPs) will not be able to change their votes.
Statutory declarations (SD) and interviews are terribly unreliable. How many of these MPs have signed more than one SD? How many of them have changed allegiances more than once within the past week, including after meeting with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA)?
Muhyiddin Yassin should not be sworn in as the new Prime Minister based on the use of such unreliable extraneous evidence.
The Dewan Rakyat should meet, not to vote for the eighth Prime Minister, but to pass a vote of no confidence for the seventh Prime Minister. In the event that Mahathir is defeated in a vote of no confidence, he would then have the option of advising the YDPA to dissolve Parliament, or resign and make way for Muhyiddin to form a new government.
This is the way provided for under Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution.
This needs to take place before a new Prime Minister can be sworn in. Article 40(2)(a) on the discretion of the YDPA to appoint the Prime Minister must be read with Article 43.
Until that happens, the swearing-in of Muhyiddin would be premature and in circumvention of the constitutional process.
