Both the PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and PAS elections director Mustafa Ali have said that PAS will support a no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Both Tuan Ibrahim and Mustafa Ali are not MPs, and as far as their statement that PAS will support a no-confidence vote against Najib in Parliament is concerned, I’ll believe it when I see it.
The reason why Pakatan Rakyat died after seven years bearing the hopes and trusts of the people, regardless of race, religion or region for political change, is because PAS under its President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang is not to be trusted, as his word is not his bond.
Again and again, Hadi’s PAS has reneged on solemn commitments and undertakings, whether it is loyalty to the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework (CPF), the PR operational principle of consensus that no one party or leader of any one party can override or veto decisions collectively arrived at by the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council, whether about one-to-one contest in all parliamentary and state assembly constituencies the 13th General Election, the decision to appoint Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the Mentri Besar of Selangor or the unanimous agreement that the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council should be consulted first before any amendments to the Kelantan hudud bill or any PAS private member’s bill motion in Parliament on hudud is presented to the respective legislatures.
Although Hadi was absent in some of the PR Leadership Council meetings, PAS was always represented by Mat Sabu, the PAS Deputy President and Mustafa Ali, PAS Secretary-General in Hadi’s absence.
But the participation of the PAS deputy president and PAS secretary-general were useless as they could not prevent Hadi from overriding their decisions in the PR Leadership Council – in fact, overriding even the decision of the PAS Central Committee.
As Hadi’s PAS does not believe in the maxim that “one’s word is one’s bond”, I take the statement of the present PAS deputy president and PAS elections director with more than a pinch of salt – and I’ll believe it when I see PAS supporting a no-confidence motion against Najib.
This is all the more so when from Hadi’s recent pronouncements, he seems to be a greater defender of Najib and his 1MDB troubles than even UMNO’s own leaders and members.
I do not see the reason for all the hullabaloo about a no confidence motion against Najib caused by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi , when it is not on the cards at present.
Parliament is nine weeks away as it is not scheduled to reconvene for the 2016 Budget meeting until Oct. 19.
May be the possibility of a no confidence motion was one of the reasons why Najib does not want to hold an emergency Parliament to fill the vacancies for the Chairman and three members of the Public Accounts Committee occasioned by the Cabinet reshuffle of July 28, although I think the stronger reason is for Najib to sabotage PAC investigations into the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal.
Why is the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Zahid Hamidi going off the handle in the past few days about an UMNO leader leading an attempt to topple the government, collecting statutory declarations (SD) of UMNO/BN and Opposition MPs to claim that they have the majority who have lost confidence in Najib as Prime Minister.
Whether one agrees with it or not, it is not an offence under the law for MPs to group together to form a new majority for a change of Prime Minister or even the government, or we cannot even claim to be a parliamentary democracy.
I have always believed whether the Prime Minister retains or loses a majority should be tested by a vote of confidence in Parliament, and it is Umno/BN which set the precedent that such a new majority could be established outside the chambers without having a meeting of Parliament.
The person responsible for such a precedent is none other than Najib Razak when the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak was toppled by UMNO/BN in February 2009 through what is now known as the Perak formula, with the majority against the incumbent Perak Mentri Besar established without going through a formal vote of confidence in the Perak State Assembly.
If Zahid thinks this is an unconstitutional way of “toppling” a government, is he suggesting that Najib should be charged in court for not only undemocratically, but illegally and unconstitutionally “toppling” the Pakatan Rakyat State Government of Perak in Feb. 2009?
It is time Zahid show more depth as Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Home Minister and end the rigmarole about a plot to group a new majority to “topple” Najib as Prime Minister.
Even if there is such a case to group a new majority to form a new goverment, Zahid should not abuse his powers and dragoon the police into what is basically a party discipline matter.
By all means sack the party malcontents, but how can Zahid or even the Inspector-General of Police threaten police and legal action when there is no offence disclosed in the exercise of a democratic political right to decide whether Najib should continue as Prime Minister or be replaced by another who can command the majority of the MPs in Parliament.