Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim has urged his fellow parliamentarians to vote down the national budget when it is tabled in October as an alternative if Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia blocks attempts to initiate a motion of no confidence in the government.
Sim was referring to Pandikar's non-commital stand on the call by a number of opposition MPs for a vote of no confidence vote on Najib Abdul Razak amid talks of an attempt to oust prime minister.
On Sept 7, Pandikar said the parliamentary standing order is silent on the tabling of motions of no-confidence, despite opposition politicians insinuating to the contrary.
Sim ( photo ) cited a parliamentary guide by Erskine May, which says that by established convention, the government must accede to the demand of the opposition leader to discuss a motion if it has the effect of testing the confidence of the House.
"Thus, unless the speaker rejects, first of all the accepted century-and-half old Erskine May convention, and secondly, the established principle of democracy where the opposition is indeed a government-in-waiting, he must allow such motion of no confidence to be tabled.
"Failing which, I call upon all conscientious MPs from both sides of the aisle to reject the prime minister's Budget to be tabled in the coming sitting, on Oct 23, 2015, as a show of no confidence in his ability to manage the finances of our country but more importantly, for his failed leadership," Sim said in a statement today.
He said the scandals plaguing Najib have sparked a crisis of confidence and credibility in the country.
"Thus, in the coming sitting, it is the duty of all MPs to decide whether to express a clear no confidence in the prime minister - or to allow him to further drag Malaysia deeper into the crisis of confidence we are already facing.
"Therefore, this sitting will be the litmus test of the integrity and conscience of each MP towards their duty to the people and our country," Sim added.
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