Motion of confidence in Parliament for Ismail Sabri not mandatory, says Aziz Bari

IPOH: A motion of confidence to prove the support for Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Prime Minister is not mandatory but it has been done “traditionally”.

Perak Opposition chief Dr Abdul Aziz Bari said although the practice is not stated in the Federal Constitution, it is not prohibited by any Constitutional provision.

“More importantly, it is closer to the spirit of the Constitution. Thus, it can be said that it is a practice or tradition that must be continued. In a situation of a thin and questionable majority, the motion of confidence for Ismail Sabri should be continued,” said the Tebing Tinggi assemblyman in a statement on Monday (Sept 6).

Dr Abdul Aziz, who is also state DAP vice-chairman, said the practice in Malaysia is quite consistent, which started with Tun Hussein Onn in 1976, followed by Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2003 and Datuk Saarani Mohamad in Perak last year.

“In 1976 and 2003, the ruling party had a two-thirds majority. The transition of power from Tunku Abdul Rahman to Tun Abdul Razak in 1970 and from Tun Hussein to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1981 were not followed up with a motion of confidence but these were minority cases.

“When Umno was barred in 1987, Dr Mahathir proved his majority outside of Parliament,” he added.

On Saturday (Sept 4), Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus Harun had stated that there was no need for Ismail Sabri to table a motion of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat.

He said if the Prime Minister’s legitimacy still had to be tested by any part apart from the King, it meant the absolute power of the monarch could be overridden.

“This is not in line with the Federal Constitution,” he had said in a statement.