MUHYIDDIN Yassin has the vote of 102 MPs against 118 who are opposed to the prime minister staying in office, pollster Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) said.

IDE today released a tally of MPs who are for and against the embattled prime minister after 31 Barisan Nasional lawmakers declared themselves for him yesterday even though Umno had announced it was withdrawing its support for the government.

The prime minister’s allies are found in Bersatu (31), PAS (18), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (18), MCA (2), MIC (1), PBRS (1), PBS (1), and four independents  (Julau, Lubok Antu, Kuala Langat and Tebrau).

Only 25 MPs in Umno are listed as pro-Muhyiddin and the PN government after yesterday’s events.

They are the MPs of Arau, Bera, Besut, Jempol, Ketereh, Kota Tinggi, Kuala Kangsar, Kuala Krau, Lipis, Padang Rengas, Padang Terap, Pasar Salak, Paya Besar, Rompin, Jasin, Jelebu, Maran, Padang Besar, Putrajaya, Rembau, Tenggara, Kepala Batas, Sembrong, Kinabatangan and Kimanis.

However IDE noted that Kinabatangan’s and Kimanis’ positions are unclear even though it has listed them among the Umno MPs on Muhyiddin’s side.

The 25 names were among the 31 read out by Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri yesterday at a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall auditorium.

Ismail said 21 of the MPs were present yesterday but only 18, including himself, were seen on stage during his announcement.

More confusion followed hours later when two names he read out – Tanjung Karang MP Noh Omar and Baling MP Azeez Abdul Rahim – gave separate press conferences on Facebook live to state their names were included only because they had signed the attendance sheet.

Noh Omar made clear denial of his support for Muhyiddin while Azeez said he welcomed the confidence vote in September when Parliament convenes.

The two had been with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on August 3 when he said that the party had enough votes in the House to oust the Muhyiddin administration.

IDE’s tally shows 13 Umno MPs on the opposing side. Besides Noh, Azeez and Zahid, represents Bagan Datuk, they are Pekan, Gua Musang, Pontian, Jerantut, Machang, Cameron Highlands, Pengerang, Parit Sulong, Lenggong and Parit.

All but two of them – Parit Sulong and Lenggong – had stood with Zahid at his August 3 press conference.

Noraini Ahmad is the Parit Sulong rep and higher education minister who yesterday resigned her cabinet position. She was the second Umno MP to do so after Energy and Natural Resources Minister  Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (Lenggong) quit on August 4.

Other MPs opposing Muhyiddin are in PKR (35), DAP (42), Amanah (11), Warisan (8), Pejuang (4), Parti Sarawak Baru (2), Upko (1), Muda (1) and independent, Maszlee Malik who represents Simpang Renggam.

With 118 MPs, the opposition bloc has more than a simple majority among the Dewan Rakyat’s 220 lawmakers.

The House has 222 seats but two are vacant following the deaths of the Grik and Batu Sapi MPs last year. Gerik was held by BN-Umno and Batu Sapi by Warisan.

The day after Umno said it had enough MPs to topple Muhyiddin’s government, the prime minister said he would not resign and would instead face a confidence vote in September.

Muhyiddin said he was aware that eight Umno MPs had informed the Dewan Rakyat speaker that the prime minister no longer had their backing.

His refusal to immediately convene the House for a vote has led to more brickbats from the opposition and the public. – August 7, 2021.