KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof has rejected the motion of confidence submitted by Semporna Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
A letter dated May 5 sent by Ariff stated that Shafie's request for the motion of confidence on Langkawi MP Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was not in line with Article 43 of the Federal Constitution.
In the letter, Ariff said that the motion was akin to questioning the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to appoint a prime minister.
"Due to that, I will not allow this motion to be brought into the (Dewan Rakyat) proceeding," he wrote.
When contacted by the New Straits Times, Ariff confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
On May 1, Shafie who is also Sabah Chief Minister, submitted a motion of confidence to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker's office, claiming that former prime minister Dr Mahathir had the majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
The letter was circulated on WhatsApp earlier today and Ariff confirmed that he had received the motion from Shafie.
"Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal (Semporna) shall propose:
"That this House gives its permission to the Semporna MP to propose a motion according to the Standing Order 26 (1) to be read together with Standing Order 27 (3), to propose a resolution to state that the Langkawi MP has the confidence of the majority of Dewan Rakyat MPs.
"Furthermore, with no intention to diminish the constitutional authority of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to appoint a prime minister, this motion is to be manifested through the Parliament of Malaysia for this matter to be revealed to all Malaysians and to seek the attention of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the palace," the motion read.
The Dewan Rakyat will convene for the first time this year on May 18 following a week of constitutional crisis which left the country without a government during the period.
It was sparked by a political manoeuvre employed by several former Pakatan Harapan leaders together with their counterparts in Umno and Pas, to form a new government under the loose Perikatan Nasional alliance.
Dr Mahathir, who previously said he was unhappy with the political ploy made by his party members, resigned abruptly, forcing the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to intervene.
On March 1, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as prime minister after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong said that the former appeared to have commanded the majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
However, Dr Mahathir claimed the opposite, saying the number of MPs presented by Muhyiddin to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was false.