SOCIAL media users have urged members of parliament (MPs) to make public their choice for prime minister (PM) after the lawmakers were told to submit their statutory declarations (SDs) to Istana Negara by tomorrow.

Some also said the choice of prime minister should be done physically in Parliament as Malaysians have the right to know who their MP endorses as PM.

They were commenting on a statement by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun who had earlier said the SDs must be submitted through fax, email, or WhatsApp to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s private secretary Azim Mohd Alim by 4pm tomorrow. Azhar added he was following the Agong’s orders.

Social network users called for transparency from their MPs, urging them to publicly state the candidate that they have endorsed as prime minister. 

Twitter user @zemiahnour tagged Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming in his tweet that read: “Salam sejahtera (greetings) YB @imokman, I’d like to request that you openly declare/publish your SD (to support which MP as PM candidate) to the public, to create accountability especially to your voter base.”

Ong replied with: “Not an issue. My stand and the stand of my party has been clear. I will support @anwaribrahim as my PM candidate. Unless otherwise instructed by the party, this will be my vote.”

Iskandar Fareez, communications director for think tank Research for Social Advancement wrote: “Can they upload to a shared drive?”

Iskandar further tweeted: “Malaysia: We aspire to be a high-tech industrialised nation, riding on the wave of IR4.0. Cybersecurity is an essential enabler to this new digital revolution. Also Malaysia: MPs, please PM tepi your preferred candidate via whatsapp, email, or fax. kthxbai.”

Co-founder of the Undi18 movement Qyira Yusri tweeted: “This is not what we meant when we say go online, Art Harun.”

Boo Su-Lyn, the editor-in-chief of health news platform Code Blue wrote: “This should be done openly in the House. Malaysians have the right to know who their MP endorses as PM.”

She hoped that MPs would inform their constituents who they endorse as PM and that that the pick should reflect their constituents’ choice.

“This isn’t a political game. MPs are representatives of the people who should act on behalf of their constituents, not in their personal capacity.

“Malaysians have the right to keep secret their votes for MP/ADUN in an election.

“Lawmakers do not have that right because they are wakil rakyat – every single vote is cast on behalf of their constituents – because we ourselves cannot personally vote on bills, or to elect PM,” she tweeted.

Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh pointed out that lawmakers were given a short time span to decide on their choice of prime minister. 

“Took Art (Azhar) seven months to call for a meeting. He gave us 24 hours to give him a name.

“Even my online order for a nice butter cake needed three days to prepare a cake for delivery,” Yeoh tweeted.

Muhyiddin Yassin resigned as the country’s prime minister yesterday after 532 days in office.

According to Article 43(2a) of the federal constitution, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is expected to appoint a new prime minister, who he deems has the support of the majority of MPs in Dewan Rakyat.

This is the first time a Dewan Rakyat Speaker has gotten involved in the process of appointing a new prime minister.  

There is no constitutional provision or precedent for the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to get involved in the process. – August 17, 2021.