By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Aug 13: The 15th General Election will be held by the end of July next year at the latest depending on the Covid-19 situation, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin promised today.
In a special televised speech titled ‘Together in National Recovery’ today, he emphasised that he has no intention to hold on to power and that it was only wise to return the mandate to the people to elect a new government at the appropriate time.
“As such, depending on the pandemic situation, I pledge to call a general election by the end of July next year at the latest,” he said.
Also, he emphasised that the government has also agreed to implement the Undi 18 initiative without waiting for the implementation of automatic registration, which will take time.
“To that end, a Constitutional Amendment Bill will be tabled in Parliament for this purpose. I hope that, with bipartisan cooperation in Parliament, this bill will be passed,” he added.
Muhyiddin, whose majority support in Parliament is currently in doubt, has been granted until Sept 7 when Parliament reconvenes to face a vote of confidence to determine his legitimacy as the Prime Minister and the position of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
However, he pointed out today that no single Member of Parliament (MP) commands the majority support of the House to enable the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to appoint a new prime minister.
“As a human being, I am not without flaws and shortcomings, more so when having to shoulder responsibilities as the Prime Minister at a time when the nation is battling an extraordinary pandemic for more than a year.
“I need the support and backing of my colleagues in the Cabinet, state government leaders, government officials, frontliners and the people overall to enable me to carry out my responsibility in leading the country out of the crisis.
“No less important is the support of my fellow MPs in the PN government, for which I am here today. My legitimacy as the Prime Minister is determined by the majority support of the MPs,” he said.
However, Muhyiddin noted that unfortunately a few MPs have withdrawn their support while the Cabinet was working hard to manage the pandemic which led to doubts raised over his legitimacy as Prime Minister and PN’s position as the ruling government.
In this situation, he explained that he had two options according to the Federal Constitution, which were either to seek the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament and then hold elections, or to resign.
“I abide by the Constitution and will take the honorable path to resolve the ongoing political crisis. However, so far, not even a single member of the Dewan Rakyat can claim majority support to allow the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to appoint a new prime minister.
“If I resign now, I will not be the only one to resign as Prime Minister. According to the Federal Constitution, I must resign all members of the Cabinet. This means that the PN government that currently governs the country will fall,” he elaborated.
In this situation, Muyiddin then asked, “What will happen to our country if the political crisis drags on and a new government cannot be formed immediately? Which government will ensure the vaccination programme runs smoothly and on schedule when the next two months are utmost critical?”
He added that the reason for proposing these measures was to ensure there is a working government during the pandemic, with bipartisan support in Parliament.
“At the same time, just like all of you, I have a responsibility to prevent kleptocrats from ruling the country,” he said. — DayakDaily
