THE motion of confidence to test Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s majority in Parliament will be held on September 7, Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said.

There will be no special Parliament sitting before that, Saifuddin said, responding to reports that there would be a special Dewan Rakyat sitting on August 18 for the motion of confidence in Muhyiddin to be tabled.

He said Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun had already sent out a notice to all Members of Parliament on the matter.

“The notice has been issued by the speaker which is September 7 for the confidence motion. For now, that’s the date that we have,” Saifuddin told a virtual press conference today.

The House will convene on September 6 for the royal address. The vote of confidence will then be held the next day.  

Muhyiddin has been under pressure to test his majority through a vote in Parliament this month, rather than wait till the September sitting when Parliament convenes for a new term.

The prime minister is now said to have the support of 100 MPs out of 220 in the Dewan Rakyat, following withdrawal of support by 15 Umno lawmakers in the past week.

In pushing for an earlier sitting, Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Azalina Othman Said had said that it would be better to have the vote before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s opening speech on September 6.

She said that it would be embarrassing to have the king read out his speech – written by the sitting government – only for the government to fall during the motion of confidence the following day.

Saifuddin, who is MP for Indera Mahkota, declined to confirm whether the cabinet discussed speeding up the vote of confidence, maintaining that September 7 was still the official date. – August 12, 2021.