Azalina: Confidence vote in Parliament is Anwar's discretion

It is the prerogative of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to table a motion of confidence toward his leadership in Dewan Rakyat on Dec 19, according to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said.

“My personal view is very simple, under the Westminster System, everyone can call for a vote of confidence.

“For the prime minister, who has gotten the decree from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and (the support of) a grand coalition, to call for a motion of confidence, he is a brave man, because he wants the parliamentarians to show their support for him,” she said, adding that most prime ministers would not want a motion of confidence.

“This is his prerogative as the head of the council (Parliament),” she told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today. 

The parliamentarians have to support Anwar (top picture) because the unity government he led was decreed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, according to Azalina. 

On Nov 24, Anwar said the main agenda for the first parliamentary sitting on Dec 19 will be to table a vote of confidence towards him.

Anwar’s announcement was made following Perikatan Nasional chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement raising doubts over the number of parliamentarians backing the prime minister.

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