PRIME Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob does not need to face a confidence vote in the Dewan Rakyat as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is already satisfied that he has majority support among members of Parliament, the attorney-general (AG) said.

The king had an audience with the 114 out of 220 MPs on August 19 to confirm their statutory declarations in support of Ismail, the Attorney-General’s Chambers said in a statement today.

Ismail, the Bera MP, then took his oath of office on August 21.

The AG said that since Ismail had been made the country’s ninth prime minister in accordance with processes stated in the federal constitution, there is no need for a confidence vote.

“If any party still doubts the legitimacy of the new prime minister’s appointment and wants a vote of confidence, it means that the sole powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can be overridden by other quarters,” the AG said.

“Such a move is not in line with the federal constitution and denies the king his powers as enshrined in the constitution.

“As such, based on the facts, there is no need to determine the legitimacy of the prime minister’s appointment and of the government, which has been formed according to the law.”

Before the king had an audience with the 114 MPs, however, he had also one with the heads and representatives of political parties on August 17, at which he told them that whoever becomes the new prime minister ought to face a vote of confidence in Parliament.

His decree was publicly revealed in a press statement by Istana Negara on August 18.

Since Ismail became prime minister, opposition leaders have also said he should face a confidence vote.

The Dewan Rakyat was to begin its first meeting of a new term on September 6, but this was postponed to September 13 after Ismail took office.

The constitution does not specify voting as the method of determining majority support for an MP to become prime minister, but it would be seen as a move in favour of transparency and clarity in view of Ismail’s slim majority out of 220 MPs.

His predecessor, Muhyiddin Yassin, also faced calls for a confidence vote because of his slim majority and was to have held one had he not been replaced by Ismail.

Ismail met Pakatan Harapan leaders Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng and Mohamad Sabu on August 25, at which point it was still thought that a confidence vote might be held.

Anwar told the media after that meeting, held to discuss a confidence and supply agreement (CSA), that the opposition would “not complicate matters” for Ismail if a vote is held.

The CSA is a set of reforms the opposition wants Ismail’s government to implement in exchange for its support to stabilise the political landscape so that the country can effectively fight the Covid-19 epidemic. – September 4, 2021.