PKR MP: Anwar within his rights to try and prove he has the numbers
If the news is true that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim does have the support of 113 MPs, he is within his rights to try and prove his majority, said the party's Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim.
"The Perikatan Nasional government through de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan answered my question in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday by saying that PN will not table 25 motions of no-confidence and two motion of confidence regarding the position of Pagoh MP Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister of Malaysia...
If the news is true that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim does have the support of 113 MPs, he is within his rights to try and prove his majority, said the party's Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim.
"The Perikatan Nasional government through de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan answered my question in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday by saying that PN will not table 25 motions of no-confidence and two motion of confidence regarding the position of Pagoh MP Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister of Malaysia.
"I think if the news is true that Port Dickson MP Anwar will present (evidence of) the support of 113 MPs in the near future (to the king), I am of the opinion that the actions of Anwar are reasonable and appropriate and in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Constitution and the practice of parliamentary democracy.
"I will support it," Hassan told Malaysiakini.
He was responding to a story by Astro Awani that quoted a PKR insider source as saying that Anwar would once again try to meet with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and prove that he has the support of a majority of Dewan Rakyat MPs.
The source told Astro Awani that Anwar has the support of 113 MPs and that this is backed up by statutory declarations. A later Astro Awani report claimed that 10 Umno MPs including party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former premier Najib Abdul Razak would be among those lending their support to Anwar.
Hassan himself has urged Anwar in the past not to consider working with Najib and said it would not be a wise move.
It is also speculated that Anwar may introduce the matter in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.
It should be noted that in the run-up to the Budget 2021 votes, senior Umno leaders threatened to withhold their support but eventually backtracked on this.
Takiyuddin, in dismissing the call for the motions of no confidence to be voted on, said there has been no indication that Muhyiddin has lost majority support in the Dewan Rakyat so far.
“The opposition said if the Supply (Budget) Bill 2021 was not passed, it is a reflection or assumption that the prime minister had lost majority support.
“However, as we are all aware, on Nov 26 the budget was passed (at the policy stage) via voice vote with fewer voices against it. That is the record,” said Takiyuddin.
Previously, Anwar was supposed to have had an audience with the Agong on Sept 22, a day before the opposition leader publicly claimed he had enough support to form a new government.
However, the meeting on Sept 22 was postponed as the Agong was undergoing treatment at the National Heart Institute (IJN) from Sept 21 till Oct 3.
He eventually met with the Agong on Oct 13, but the Istana Negara's comptroller of the royal household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said Anwar did not provide the names of the MPs who are supporting him during his audience with the king.
"During the session, which lasted about 25 minutes, Datuk Seri Anwar presented the total number of members of the Dewan Rakyat who purportedly supported him.
"However, he did not furnish the names of these Dewan Rakyat members to strengthen his claim," he added in the statement.
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