Sitting delay understandable but confidence vote a must, says Guan Eng

PETALING JAYA: The one-week postponement of Dewan Rakyat sittings is understandable with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob under Covid-19 quarantine, says DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

However, the former finance minister maintained that a motion of confidence must be tabled in the lower house when it sits, warning that failure to do so would be unconstitutional and an act of defiance against the King.

In a statement, Lim also reminded Ismail not to repeat his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin’s mistakes in refusing to table a motion of confidence quickly.

“It is clear that Parliament is postponed by one week to accommodate Ismail, who is under home quarantine after being in close contact with a Covid-19 positive patient.

“However, if there is no vote of confidence motion, what is the point or justification for the one-week postponement of Parliament? There is simply no alternative or compromise on holding a vote of confidence motion in Parliament, this must proceed.

“Ismail should not forget what happened to his predecessor who was seen in a similar light of open disobedience that evoked royal displeasure,” he said.

Lim said there was no reason for the new prime minister to put off the vote of confidence when he already had the support of 114 MPs and was holding discussions with the opposition to jointly focus efforts on combating the health and economic crises.

The Bagan MP warned Ismail that failure to table the motion would only destroy the Umno vice-president’s credibility and integrity while giving rise to more political instability.

“This would seriously hamper Ismail’s ability as prime minister to lead the country as well as risk his reliability to fulfil his promise to carry out institutional reforms,” he said. — Free Malaysia Today