PM signals govt will allow vote of no confidence in Parliament

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has signalled that the government would not obstruct a vote of confidence from taking place in Parliament, amid a push from the opposition for him to step down.

Anwar said he had spoken to Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul to ensure that if such a motion is tabled, it would take place immediately.

“I told the speaker, if there’s a motion today (then the vote will happen) today,” he said at a gathering with the Prime Minister's Department staff this morning.

“Today is the first day of the (new meeting) of Parliament. I’m waiting for the no-confidence vote motion. If you have the majority, go ahead,” he added.

However, Anwar doubted that the opposition could muster enough numbers to oust him, and that the government still had a two-thirds majority.

Under Parliament rules, government business - meaning bills or other motions brought by the federal administration - takes precedence over other motions brought on by MPs.

During the Najib Abdul Razak administration, this resulted in motions of no confidence being added to the order of business. However, it would never reach the House floor as the motions would be far down the line by the time Parliament meetings ended.

However, the prime minister, as the leader of Parliament, can make way for motions by non-government MPs to be brought forward.

In December 2022, one month after taking office, Anwar had called for a vote of confidence, which he won with a simple voice vote.

This was because the opposition did not call for a bloc vote, where each MP’s vote was individually tallied.

PN to rally

Presently, Perikatan Nasional is spearheading a series of rallies dubbed “Turun Anwar” to pressure the premier to resign over rising cost of living and failure to deliver on reforms, among others.

The main rally is set to be held this Saturday, with PN expecting 300,000 participants. Police projections are lower, at around 10,000 to 15,000.

Anwar said today that he had told the police to allow the protest to proceed.

However, he pushed back against allegations that government policies were worsening the cost-of-living problem.

He cited new electricity tariffs as an example, reiterating that only high consumption users and businesses will be affected, while the rest will have lower electricity bills.

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