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By Joseph Sipalan
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will face a confidence vote in parliament on May 18, after having focused on fighting a coronavirus outbreak in Malaysia since he emerged as head of a new coalition just over two months.
The motion proposing a vote of confidence was tabled by Mahathir Mohamad, the 94-year-old veteran leader of Malaysia who resigned from the presidency in February when the multi-ethnic coalition he had led fell apart.
Muhyiddin, who had previously been among Mahathir’s trusted lieutenants, was sworn in on March 1, having emerged at the head of an ethnic Malays-dominated coalition whose parties together have a slim majority, controlling 116 of the 222 seats in parliament.
Muhyiddin had earlier postponed the start of parliamentary procedures by two months in March, as the opposition pushed for a confidence vote to challenge his new government.
On Friday, House Speaker Mohamad Ariff, MD Yusof, said he had approved Mahathir’s motion for a confidence test once Parliament meets for the first time this year on May 18.
“As Speaker of the House of Representatives, I must study and ensure that all motions presented comply with and comply with standing orders … any consideration and decision of the Speaker of the House must be fair and uphold the integrity of the House.” Mohamad Ariff said in a statement.
Requests for comment were forwarded by the prime minister’s office to the minister in charge of law and parliamentary affairs, who did not immediately respond.
If Mahathir’s group were able to remove some of Muhyiddin’s support, Malaysia could return to the polls.
In the last elections in 2018, Mahathir’s multi-ethnic alliance toppled then-Prime Minister Najib Razak, capitalizing on popular anger over his leader’s alleged involvement in a multi-million dollar graft scandal at the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) sovereign wealth fund.
Returning for a second term in power, having led Malaysia for 22 years until 2003, Mahathir was unable to hold his coalition together.
To secure power, Muhyiddin broke with Mahathir and forged a new Malay nationalist coalition with the corrupt Najib party: the United National Organization of Malaysia (UMNO) and an Islamist party, PAS.
Muhyiddin’s tenure so far has focused on managing the public health crisis and the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this week, the government began to relax some of the strict movement restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the disease.
The government has said the six-week blockade has cost him some 63 billion ringgit ($ 14.57 billion) in revenue.
($ 1 = 4.3250 ringgit)
(Edition by Simon Cameron-Moore)
