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KUALA LUMPUR – Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Malaysia’s oldest lawmaker and Umno MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, asked Parliament last month to debate a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin over alleged “political bribery”.
This despite the fact that his party supports the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition. .
The revelation comes amid intense scrutiny over whether Tan Sri Muhyiddin still has majority support in the 222-member lower house of Parliament after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claimed otherwise in a hearing with the Rey on Tuesday (October 13).
Tan Sri Razaleigh was also summoned to the palace by Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah on the same day.
The palace later said that Datuk Seri Anwar, who heads Parti Keadlian Rakyat (PKR), did not provide a list of the names of the 120 or more MPs who he says back him.
In a letter to President Azhar Harun on September 25, Razaleigh said he had rejected Muhyiddin’s offer to make him an advisor to the state-owned oil giant Petronas, a position generally reserved for former prime ministers.
The Gua Musang deputy said this was because the federal Constitution states that one can be “disqualified as a deputy if he holds a lucrative position.”
“This subsection is intended to prevent parliamentarians from supporting or voting for the government due to political bribery,” he said in the letter that was released to the media on Wednesday.
Although Mr. Razaleigh did not make explicit reference to other lawmakers, the Muhyiddin administration has been criticized for appointing around 90 percent of the 113 MPs in the PN coalition to ministerial functions, or as heads of state agencies and government-linked companies ( GLC). .
However, the Constitution defines “profit office” as positions in public services such as the armed forces, the judiciary, legal services, and the police force.
“Political bribery is causing our constitutional democracy to face a serious challenge. Therefore, it is very important that an understanding of political bribery is based on the constitutional purpose of considering that the performance of a ‘position of profit’ results in the disqualification of membership. to defend and uphold the Constitution and the integrity of the House of Commons, “Razaleigh wrote.
Although President Azhar rejected the request to prioritize the motion of no confidence, presented by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in May, ahead of government business, the disclosure implies that Muhyiddin’s already slim majority is now down to the low of 112.
It follows Tuesday night’s statement by Umno, PN’s largest member, that he was considering withdrawing support for Mr. Muhyiddin unless “new conditions” are met.
Although the demands were not specified, Muhyiddin’s Umno and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia have been at odds for months over the primacy in the ruling coalition.
Tensions most recently flared after Bersatu won the post of Sabah’s chief minister following state elections on September 26, with high-level figures in Umno questioning the wisdom of his cooperation with Bersatu.
Razaleigh, who is the head of Umno’s advisory council, had also rejected in July the idea of continuing to support Muhyiddin as prime minister after a new general election, which is expected in months.
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