Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan giving the press conference after the parliament session on December 19.— AZMAN GHANI/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: The Opposition did not want to take part in the motion of confidence for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s premiership in the Dewan Rakyat, as it did not want to be seen as being in support of the "illegal" agreement between members of the unity government, says Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.
Perikatan Nasional's chief parliamentary whip also reiterated that the agreement between the coalitions within the unity government was illegal and had restricted parliamentary democracy.
“We are confident that not all members who signed the document agreed with the government’s decision. But they did not have a choice,” he said in a press conference with Perikatan Nasional leaders in Parliament on Monday (Dec 19).
“Our stand is that we did not vote or voice our agreement during the vote on the motion of confidence earlier because we did not want to participate in a vote for an illegal and unconstitutional document,” he added.
The Kota Baru MP also claimed that Perikatan is concerned some members may have been forced to support the motion under duress due to the agreement.
He also questioned the need for a motion of confidence for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s government when he was already appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and a government, unless the Prime Minister wanted to prove the support he commanded.
“It is not known how many of the 222 MPs are supporting the Prime Minister,” he added.
Citing the law, he said voting under duress is unlawful, therefore the agreement is void.
Currently, Pakatan leads the unity government with 81 seats, Barisan has 30 seats, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (23), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (six), Warisan (three), two independents and one each from Parti Bangsa Malaysia, Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Malaysia and Muda.
Last Friday, these parties signed an agreement to commit to the Malaysia unity government led by Anwar.
