KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — It will be futile for the federal opposition to table a vote of no confidence in Parliament as lawmakers from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition would not dare to vote against the prime minister, PAS MP Datuk Mahfuz Omar said today.
Mahfuz labelled BN MPs “cowards” and “hypocrites” and criticised them for wanting to keep Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the prime minister instead of saving the country from a purported crisis.
“Why should the opposition bring (the vote of no confidence), cannot win because of the ‘hypocrites’ BN MPs.
“This is a challenge to BN MPs,” the Pokok Sena MP told reporters here.
A simple majority of 112 votes is needed for a vote of no confidence to succeed, but the federal opposition currently only hold 88 seats in the 222-seat Parliament.
Recently, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad called for MPs to move a vote of no confidence in Parliament, claiming that the only way to return to rule of law was to remove Najib from power.
He also called on BN lawmakers to take part in the vote against Najib, but added that the government should remain in the 13-party coalition’s hands afterwards.
In response, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz told Malay Mail Online in a recent interview that Dr Mahathir’s proposal is doomed to fail because the system currently does not allow a no-confidence vote against an individual.
The former de facto law minister also said that BN’s chief whip, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, will not allow such a move to take place and will ensure all BN MPs toe the line.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak had also warned that the entire BN government will fall if a no-confidence vote against the prime minister succeeds in Parliament.
