SEPTEMBER 8 ― Over the past couple of months, there has been an increasing volume of calls for a motion of no-confidence against the prime minister to be tabled in the upcoming parliamentary session.

But let’s face it. Such a motion could very well fail in its purpose of unseating the current prime minister and his government. The Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition would move heaven and earth, and possibly the supernatural as well, to ensure that such a motion be defeated in Parliament.

The Barisan Nasional’s chief whip, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, would be working overtime to ensure that all BN members of Parliament sing the same tune and the same song. After all, they are all very well trained. The choir boys and girls from the Cabinet were right in their comments saying that any such motion would be defeated.

The DPM has called for Umno (but strangely not BN?) members to stand united firmly behind their leaders. That’s all well and good as well as expected. But I ask the members of Umno this: do you really want to stand behind these leaders? Do they really represent you and the struggles of Umno?

Your leaders are a representation of what you and your party are and stand for. Think about it. What would Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Hussein Onn and Tunku Abdul Rahman have thought?

So many questions remain unanswered. This is amidst allegations of mismanagement of the debt-laden 1Malaysia Development fund, a faltering economy with a currency which grows weaker by the day, and the sword of Damocles in the form of a US$700 million (RM3 billion) “donation.” In addition to that, are further questions involving the utilisation of the Employee Provident Fund, Retirement Fund Inc and Lembaga Tabung Haji.

These issues have shaken the trust of the people in the government as well as threatened and compromised the confidence of external parties in this country. This year, foreign investors have already pulled out US$3 billion out of the economy. The Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index has retreated 4.5 per cent. The ringgit has already slumped to its weakest since 1998 after tumbling more than 11 per cent against the dollar. This is the biggest decline among Asian currencies, the recent devaluation of the Chinese Yuan notwithstanding.

A federal Budget proposed and implemented by the same government and management team who got us into this mess will not regain the confidence of domestic and foreign investors. As demonstrated and articulated by the thousands who gathered on the streets of KL recently, many have lost trust in this government and no longer believe that it is working for them.

Fresh hands are needed at the tiller and a new direction for the country is needed. This nation does not need a new Umno leader; it needs a new government. It is no use pretending otherwise and abuse the mandate that was given in 2013.

Instead of focusing energies and spending political capital on putting forward a motion of no-confidence which may very well fail, I suggest working towards defeating the 2016 Budget Bill which will be tabled this coming session.

The successful rejection of the government’s federal Budget Bill would be tantamount to a vote of no-confidence.

If the prime minister loses the confidence of the Dewan Rakyat, whether by losing a no-confidence vote or failing to pass a Budget, he must either advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament and hold a general election or submit his resignation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. By convention, this would also result in the resignation of the entire Cabinet.

There is a moment in every generation where when we must cast aside the fears, the doubts, the cynicism, and do what is necessary. We must find the courage within us to stand up in the face of the fiercest resistance and say that this is wrong, and that this must change.

We must not settle for what the cynics tell us we have to accept.

Make no mistake. A successful vote of no-confidence or defeating the Budget will not be a magic tongkat that will solve all problems, provide immediate solutions, or even provide clarity to the murkiness that surrounds the politics in this country.

What it will help provide is a fresh start and enable us to begin restoring the faith of Malaysians in the system.

Tell our Members of Parliament that the upcoming annual federal Budget Bill should not be allowed to pass and that they should work towards its defeat. Regardless of how the individual Whips may command, it is time that our MPs remember who they work for, to vote their conscience on this issue and have the courage to do so.

This house of cards will soon come down. I just hope it doesn’t take the Malaysian people and the country with it.

*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.