‘Caretaker PM question does not arise if Parliament not dissolved’

PETALING JAYA: Anyone appointed as prime minister by the King without a dissolution of the Parliament must prove he or she commands the majority of Dewan Rakyat, says former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram.

If there is no dissolution of the Parliament when the sitting prime minister resigns, the question of a caretaker prime minister does not arise, he adds.

Sri Ram commented on the current political situation as Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is slated to tender his resignation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today.

Muhyiddin had decided to resign after failing to get bipartisan support from the Opposition to remain as premier.

Sri Ram said when the prime minister resigns, it is akin to the whole Cabinet resigning.

“The concept of a caretaker government does not come into play unless there is a dissolution of Parliament by the King.”

Sri Ram said when a new prime minister is appointed, he can appoint his Cabinet line-up, present them to the King to be sworn in and prove his majority in Parliament.

“When Parliament is convened, a floor vote is then taken. If the PM and Cabinet get the confidence of the majority of MPs, they remain in their position.

“If that prime minister chosen by the King does not want to serve in the position, he can advise the King on a successor who commands the confidence of the majority of lawmakers, ” he said.

Constitutional law expert Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi warned that the Constitution also has conventions to be followed.

“Upon the sitting prime minister’s resignation, the Constitution does not have any specific mention of interim, unity or minority government. Therefore, the concept of a caretaker government does not arise if there is no dissolution of Parliament.“There is no specific mention of interim, unity or minority governments. But don’t forget that the Constitution is not black letter rules only. “Conventions are part of the Constitution. In many Commonwealth countries such as New Zealand, minority, unity and caretaker governments are all very common,” said Prof Shad Saleem.

Constitutional expert Prof Datuk Dr Shamrahayu Ab Aziz said there is no provision in the Constitution to force the appointed new prime minister to call for a vote of confidence to prove his majority in the House.“That is not necessarily so. There is no such provision in the Constitution. But it is still open to Parliament, to either pass a vote of confidence or no confidence,” said Prof Shamrahayu.