Roadblock for no-confidence motion as gov't matters prioritised
The opposition's attempt to table a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin during the Parliament sitting on May 18 could run into a brick wall.
This is because de facto Parliament and Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan stressed that only government matters would be prioritised during the one-day sitting...
The opposition's attempt to table a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin during the Parliament sitting on May 18 could run into a brick wall.
This is because de facto Parliament and Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan stressed that only government matters would be prioritised during the one-day sitting.
He said outstanding matters would be brought forward to the next sitting on July 13 if time runs out before the motions from MPs can be debated.
During a press conference this afternoon, Takiyuddin explained the order of events for the much-anticipated sitting which has been cut short, to the chagrin of opposition lawmakers, due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong will officiate the sitting.
“After that, the House will sit to settle government matters and government business only. And it will adjourn," he said.
“Government matters will be prioritised. The government has several matters like motions and bills [...],” he added.
The Dewan Rakyat Standing Order 15(1) states that government business must take precedence over private member matters.
Takiyuddin said the government would table four motions - to declare Port Dickson MP Anwar Ibrahim as opposition leader; to appoint an opposition MP to lead the Public Accounts Committee; to postpone debates over the Agong’s address and to appoint a selection committee.
This selection committee would be tasked with replacing existing parliamentary select committees.
The Perikatan Nasional government would also be tabling two bills for first reading - the Supplementary Supply (2019) Bill and Supplementary Supply (2020) Bill.
The second and third readings, along with debates over the Agong’s address, will take place in the July sitting.
Other motions, wait and see
Takiyuddin did not state any time limit for the one-day sitting, only that it would begin at 10am and would not have the usual 1pm-2.30pm lunch break.
As for motions from other MPs, the minister said this was subject to speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof.
“If they are accepted for this sitting and allowed to be debated, they will be debated.
“But let’s say the motions aren’t able to be debated, then they will be heard in the next sitting,” he said.
Takiyuddin stressed that the government did not interfere in Ariff’s decisions.
“The government did not influence (the speaker) whether to accept or reject motions,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ariff's deputy Mohd Rashid Hasnon told Malaysiakini that the motion against Muhyiddin would not be debated at the coming sitting.
"The motion was accepted but (it won't be debated) on May 18," he said when contacted.
Come May 18, Takiyuddin said MPs will be sitting a seat away from each other for social distancing purposes.
Takiyuddin said Ariff will only be allowing government-owned media like RTM and Bernama to cover the proceedings inside the hall.
As for persistent demands from the opposition for a longer sitting, he reiterated that this was not advisable due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Additional reporting by Ng Xiang Yi.
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