by Ganesh Sahathevan
On 18 May 2020 the Yang Dipertuan Agong delivered a speech in Parliament. It may not be considered a Royal Address, for there was nothing of consequence that followed that speech. It follows then that Parliament has never been reconvened since the fall of the previous Mahathir administration.
Accepting, and then publicly declaring that Parliament has never been reconvened can provide the Agong with yet another means to instal a new government.
TO BE READ WITH
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Malaysia's King will address Parliament, but his Royal Address will be ignored, and be of no consequence: King's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to blame; fear of a motion of no confidence during the debate on the Royal Address may have motivated the insult
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Malaysia's King Abdullah Of Pahang
The Star has reported:
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Parliament Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff has accepted Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s proposed vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
In a statement on Friday (May 8), the speaker said that he has accepted the former prime minister's motion, which states that Mr Muhyiddin does not have the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament (MPs).
However, it was not spelt out in the statement whether the motion will be debated in the upcoming one-day sitting on May 18.
In the same statement, Mr Mohamad Ariff also rejected a separate motion tabled by Dr Mahathir for him to remain as the speaker until the current parliament is dissolved.
He also reiterated that he will not be allowing the tabling of a motion sought by Semporna MP and Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, to determine that Dr Mahathir has the confidence of parliament.
Mr Mohammad Ariff said the motion was inconsistent with Article 43 of the Federal Constitution and disputes the authority of the king in the matter of appointing the prime minister.
Parliament is scheduled to sit for one day on May 18. It was originally scheduled to sit from Mar 9 to Apr 16 but that was postponed until May 18 to Jun 23 following a change of government which saw Mr Muhyiddin being appointed prime minister.
The government later decided to hold a one-day sitting, on May 18, in view of the movement control order (MCO) that was imposed on Mar 18 to curb the spread of COVID-19.
In March, Dr Mahathir said that Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) attempt to table a no-confidence motion against Mr Muhyiddin Yassin in parliament was unlikely to succeed.
“Now that he is the government, he can afford to offer inducements to many,” said Dr Mahathir on Mar 10.
“I found that some of my supporters have been made ministers, so they switched sides.”
Source: CNA/am(aw)
The Star has reported:
The Dewan Rakyat meeting on Monday (May 18) will only feature the opening address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, said Parliament.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof said that there would not be any other government business to attend to for the day.
"I received a letter signed by the Prime Minister who is the Ketua Majlis, informing that as the Covid-19 outbreak has not been completely subsided, the government had decided that the first meeting of the third session of the 14th Parliament would only take place for a day on May 18.
"There will be no meeting after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's opening address," he said in a statement on Wednesday (May 13).
As result of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's request, the Agong's Royal Address will not be debated, voted on, and as is customary, accepted by Parliament on behalf of the people.
Put in another way, this king's speech will in effect be ignored, carry no weight and be of no consequence. What this popular monarch may have done to earn this insult is hard to fathom, but such is the nature of Malaysian politics.
Having said that it is not unlikely that PM Muhyiddin fears a speech such as this during the debate on the Royal Address, which led to the removal of another prime minister:
"That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, as followeth:—
Most Gracious Sovereign,
We, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Majesty for the Gracious Speech which Your Majesty has addressed to both Houses of Parliament.
But it is our duty respectfully to submit to your Majesty that Your Majesty's present advisers have not the confidence of this House."[40]
Most Gracious Sovereign,
We, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Majesty for the Gracious Speech which Your Majesty has addressed to both Houses of Parliament.
But it is our duty respectfully to submit to your Majesty that Your Majesty's present advisers have not the confidence of this House."[40]
END
TO BE READ WITH
Malaysian speaker of parliament accepts Mahathir's motion for no-confidence vote against PM MuhyiddinKUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Parliament Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff has accepted Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s proposed vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
In a statement on Friday (May 8), the speaker said that he has accepted the former prime minister's motion, which states that Mr Muhyiddin does not have the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament (MPs).
However, it was not spelt out in the statement whether the motion will be debated in the upcoming one-day sitting on May 18.
In the same statement, Mr Mohamad Ariff also rejected a separate motion tabled by Dr Mahathir for him to remain as the speaker until the current parliament is dissolved.
He also reiterated that he will not be allowing the tabling of a motion sought by Semporna MP and Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, to determine that Dr Mahathir has the confidence of parliament.
Mr Mohammad Ariff said the motion was inconsistent with Article 43 of the Federal Constitution and disputes the authority of the king in the matter of appointing the prime minister.
Parliament is scheduled to sit for one day on May 18. It was originally scheduled to sit from Mar 9 to Apr 16 but that was postponed until May 18 to Jun 23 following a change of government which saw Mr Muhyiddin being appointed prime minister.
The government later decided to hold a one-day sitting, on May 18, in view of the movement control order (MCO) that was imposed on Mar 18 to curb the spread of COVID-19.
In March, Dr Mahathir said that Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) attempt to table a no-confidence motion against Mr Muhyiddin Yassin in parliament was unlikely to succeed.
“Now that he is the government, he can afford to offer inducements to many,” said Dr Mahathir on Mar 10.
“I found that some of my supporters have been made ministers, so they switched sides.”
Source: CNA/am(aw)
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