Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - A move by Malaysia's former premier Muhyiddin Yassin to sue the Speaker of Parliament, as well as five lawmakers sacked from his Bersatu party has raised eyebrows amid talk of a Budget vote-down that could trigger a change in government.
Some in the political scene are praising the lawsuit decision, arguing it was a necessary "move of principle to bring law and order" to Malaysia's rather unruly Parliament, where might and the ability to grant financial benefits are almost always right - while the higher causes of integrity and transparency, despite advancing and protecting the nation as a whole, are brushed off at the drop of a hat - usually the all-powerful prime minister's.
WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY OPENS FOR PN, EVEN UMNO
Others were more cynical, arguing that Muhyiddin and the Opposition should focus on options with more political oomph, such as voting down the much-panned Budget 2025 presented by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last month and currently in the final stages of being tabled.
"Instead of chasing over futile issues, Bersatu should focus on voting down the Budget. Budget down, government falls. As simple as that," a veteran pundit told PoliticsNow Malaysia.
When asked who would then head the new government, the pundit said bets were on for either Muhyiddin or Samsuri Mokhtar, the Terengganu chief minister and fastest-rising star in the Muslim-centric Pas party, to assume the reins of power.
It was not impossible that the next PM could even come from Umno, currently a key party in Anwar's rather fractious unity government which includes Sarawak's GPS and Sabah's GRS.
"Voting down the Budget doesn't require presence in Parliament. It is better done through absenteeism in the government bench," reminded the pundit.
"As for the lawsuit, I am not saying Muhyiddin shouldn't take the Speaker and the five rogue MPs to court. I think it is laudable that someone tries to get clarification once and for all. People are sick and tired of biased Speakers but it's not easy to stop. It happens all the time, for example, just look at Nancy Pelosi. When she was the U.S. Speaker, she always supported the Democrats no matter what the issue raised by the Republicans. But yes, this sort of thing should not be condoned and of all people, Anwar should stop aping the monkeys because he used to get it all the time when he was in the Opposition. So now he's PM, he should practice reform instead of making full use of the loopholes," the pundit continued.
Anwar's Budget 2025 valued at about RM421 billion was passed at the policy stage last week. It is now at the committee stage for a second reading and further debate for 12 days. If approved, the spending plan for next year will undergo a third reading before being presented to the Senate or upper house. If endorsed, it will then be submitted to the King for royal assent.
"The window of opportunity is still open for Muhyiddin and the Opposition to stage an upset in Parliament. Of course, they will need the help of MPs from parties like Umno who dislike Anwar for one reason or another. The problem is the Opposition doesn't seem very sure of themselves when it comes to economic or financial issues. So far, there have been whispers but nothing has been concretely organized that I have heard of," said the pundit.
HISTORICALLY HUGE BUDGET, YET SUBSIDIES BEING CUT & NAJIB TO GO HOME?
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Indeed, despite the mediocre content and proposals in Anwar's Budget 2025 or perhaps because they were so lackluster, few could really catch what Anwar would actually be spending the huge amount of money on. Even the Opposition has been rather silent - mostly complaining only about the lack of details.
By and large, Malaysians have hazy memories of Budget 2025, other than it was yet another plan announced by the Anwar administration that, intentionally or not, is set to bring about more painful belt-tightening measures for the man on the street. What most people remember are that more subsidy cuts are on the way, including the "mother of all killers", the removal of government subsidy on RON95, the petrol used by most of the citizenry.
Perhaps most shocking and as such most memorable of all in Anwar's Budget 2025 was the sudden announcement that a new law would be introduced for 'eligible' criminals to serve out their jail sentences in the comfort of their homes instead of in prison.
As this could include disgraced ex-premier Najib Razak, the public backlash was tremendous - forcing Anwar to downplay and deny the proposed law was designed specially so that Najib could spend the balance of a reduced six-year jail term for corruption under “luxury home arrest” soon.
"So many questionable ingredients and many of these justifiable concerns since Anwar is seeking a historically massive sum of money to spend but Muhyiddin and the PN opposition don't seem interested at all to play the role of a probing and questioning Opposition," said the pundit.
PLODDING ON WITH LAWSUIT AGAINST SPEAKER, ROGUE 5
The rather plodding Muhyiddin was prime minister from 2020 to 2021 and his Bersatu party heads the PN main opposition bloc, which also includes Pas the most influential Malay party now. During the 2022 general election which swept Anwar's Pakatan Harapan coalition to power, PN had won 74 out of the 222 seats in the federal Parliament.
Perhaps the inability to secure enough support to derail Anwar's Budget 2025 might be why Muhyiddin and PN are keeping quiet - opting instead to focus on hauling to court the Speaker of Parliament and five 'rogue' MPs.
On Monday (November 18), Bersatu announced the filing of a lawsuit seeking 11 court declarations, including a declaration that the seats held by the five MPs have become vacant under the Federal Constitution’s Article 49A(1)(a)(ii).
Under the Article, an MP will cease to be an MP and his parliamentary seat becomes vacant when the Speaker establishes a casual vacancy for the seat. This applies to the situation where an MP is elected as a member of a political party, but ceases to be that party’s member.
The Bersatu five had controversially declared loyalty for Anwar instead of for their own party in exchange for financial allocations while they were still Bersatu members. They were later asked to restate their stand after Bersatu amended its party constitution to automatically terminate the membership of those unfaithful to the party's cause. The five MPs still refused to withdraw their support for Anwar and were deemed as no longer being Bersatu members.
The Speaker was notified but still refused to declare the seats of the five MPs vacant. The other court declarations sought by Bersatu are mainly focused on this decision.
"It is the court that has the jurisdiction to interpret the Federal Constitution, any federal law, state law and that it also has the jurisdiction to correct any misinterpretation including by the Speaker," challenged Bersatu, on the grounds that the Speaker had failed to carry out his duties according to Article 49A(3)
"The Speaker had contravened the Federal Constitution’s Article 49A(3) when he “wrongfully decided” via a July 9, 2024 letter that there is no casual vacancy for the five MPs’ seats. The Speaker must comply with Article 49A(3) by establishing casual vacancy for the five MPs’ seats and must notify the Election Commission of the vacant seats within 21 days of this High Court’s order.," Bersatu added.
The Speaker, Johari Abdul, is an Anwar stalwart who hails from their PKR party and the five are Iskandar Dzulkarnain the Kuala Kangsar MP; Azizi Abu Naim the Gua Musang MP; Zahari Kechik the Jeli MP; Syed Abu Hussin the Bukit Gantang MP and Zulkafperi Hanapi the Tanjong Karang MP.
"If Muhyiddin wins and the Speaker is forced to vacate the 5 seats, it's still not enough to topple Anwar's government. "But it will be a real slap in the face for a PM who came to power promising reforms," said the pundit.
Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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