Kuala Lumpur: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (
pictured) has told the government to table a motion of confidence, whether for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin or against him, in the Dewan Rakyat.
Zahid (BN-Bagan Datuk) said Parliament is the ideal avenue to determine the country’s political stability.
Government business takes precedence in the Dewan Rakyat and the government should table it as a part of government businesses, he said during the debate on the 2021 budget proposals.
“Whether it is a confidence motion or the opposite, it must be tested in the Dewan Rakyat. If this cannot be done because of restrictions of the standing orders, then something (else) must be done.
“Let the government make it a part of government business which must be prioritised so it can be brought to the Dewan Rakyat,” he said.
Some 25 MPs have filed motions of no-confidence against Muhyiddin, while two motions of confidence for the prime minister have also been submitted.
Muhyiddin’s support came under question after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was granted an audience by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Oct 13, following his claim that he has a “convincing majority support” to be the new prime minister.
Separately, Zahid said he will support the budget only if Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors were allowed to withdraw RM10,000 from their Account 1, and the automatic loan moratorium was extended.
Still, he commended Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz for engaging politicians on both sides of the divide on the budget, and reiterated the need for a political ceasefire so the country can focus on the economy and fighting Covid-19.
The former deputy prime minister also voiced concern over the plight of the people, from professionals and blue collar workers to unemployed graduates, and urged the government to look into their problems.
