I totally disagree with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Azalina Othman that placing the Opposition’s motion of no confidence as the 25th out of 28th item under the Dewan Rakyat’s Standing Orders and Motions is norm.
I have previously stated that the motion of confidence, or in the case of the Opposition, the motion no confidence, is an important and established convention under the Westminster-style Parliament which we practice in Malaysia. This is because the legitimacy of the Government rests upon it receiving the confidence of the House.
There are three key reasons why the Opposition’s motion of no confidence should be given priority over other motions this Parliament sitting:
- The legitimacy of the PM’s Budget in question
- A Government which lost the confidence of the House cannot make important decisions
- Established convention states motion of (no) confidence takes precedence over other motions
Firstly, in view of the Prime Minister’s Supply Bill at the end of the first week of Parliament on 23 October 2015, the Speaker should prioritise the motion of no confidence tabled by the Member from Petaling Jaya Selatan. How can the Prime Minister’s Supply Bill be legitimate if his administration is hanging on the thin thread of being oust in the House?
Secondly, the result of a successful motion of no confidence is a caretaker Government. As such it is not allowed to make new policies or new appointments. The Government and Backbenchers’ motions preceding the motion by Petaling Jaya Selatan mostly deals with such new policies and appointments. In fact the first and second items are the Prime Minister’s motions on the new Cabinet as well as the new Public Accounts Committee. Item no.3 through no.6 deal with important new legislation and amendments to existing legislations.
Thirdly, by historical convention, “the Government will always accede to the demand from the Opposition to allot a day for the discussion of such a motion” and while the “Government is entitled to have regard to exigencies of its own business, a reasonably early day is invariably (always) found.” (Source: p. 344, Erskine May, 24th Edition, 2011)
According to a UK Parliament report on Fixed-term Parliaments Bill, “a motion of confidence should take precedence over other motions” (Source: p. 38, Fixed-term Parliaments Bill, Second Report of Session 2010-11, 10 September 2010).
The famous British constitutional expert, Sir Ivor Jennings stated that, “the absurdity of a system in which the Government postpones its own business in order to let the Opposition threaten death and damnation is only apparent. The Opposition is not just a nuisance to be tolerated, but a definite and essential part of the Constitution.” (Source: p. 158, Parliament, 2nd ed, 1970)
This is certainly based on Erskine May’s principle that the practice for allowing the early tabling of a motion of no confidence is “founded on the recognised position of the Opposition as a potential Government” and thus “guarantees the legitimacy of such an interruption of the normal course of business.” (Source: p. 344, Erskine May, 24th Edition, 2011)
In other words, the normal operation of a Westminster Government depends on whether it retains the confidence of the House. If it fails to retain such confidence, the Government shall either resign or dissolve the Parliament – it cannot continue its normal operation. And the only way to test whether such confidence exists, and therefore whether the Government has legitimacy, is to allow for the motion of no confidence to be tabled as early as possible.
Conscientious MPs from both sides should vote down every single Government’s motion
If the Government does not allow Petaling Jaya Selatan’s motion to be moved up, I call on all conscientious Members of Parliament from both sides of the aisle to vote down every single Government’s motion to demonstrate our no confidence in Najib Razak’s adminstration.
As I have said earlier, this sitting is a litmus test of the integrity and conscience of all MPs towards our duty to the people and our country. We must not disappoint the Rakyat who are suffering under the current regime.