Malaysia .. What are the chances of Mahathir returning to power from Parliament Gate?

Samer Allawi - Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian Parliament Speaker Muhammad Arif has rejected a request to reinstate former Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad by voting on confidence in the assembly, thereby reducing Mahathir's chances of returning to power.

Mahathir, the world's oldest prime minister, submitted his sudden resignation on February 24, which led to a week-long power struggle.

And that battle culminated in the appointment of the country's king, Mohiuddin Yassin, Minister of Interior of Mahathir's government, as prime minister, as he was considered the "most likely leader" for a parliamentary majority leadership.

On March 1, when Yassin was sworn in, Mahathir claimed treason, and announced that he had the support of 114 parliamentarians, which is sufficient to secure a majority in the parliament vote.

In this regard, Aref confirmed that he had received a request from the head of the Sabah state government to give confidence to Mahathir on the opening day of the new parliament session on the 18th of this month.

However, Aref stated - in a written response to a question for a member of the House of Representatives - that the request for a vote of confidence contradicts the constitution and challenges the king's authority to appoint those whom he believes have the confidence of the majority of parliament members.

Political challenge
Observers consider the request to vote on confidence in the parliament the first political challenge faced by the Yassin government, knowing that the constitution does not obligate the government to obtain the confidence of parliament, and it is sufficient for the king to choose whoever trusts him to obtain the confidence of the majority of the members of the Council.

The government had postponed the opening of the new session of parliament until May 18, and due to the Corona pandemic, the government limited the parliament’s deliberations to one day in which the king delivered the opening speech in accordance with the constitutional custom, in order to avoid dissolving the parliament automatically if it did not take place within six months of its last session. .

However, the opposition parties are demanding an extension of the deliberations to ten days, while taking advantage of technology and maintaining protection means to discuss the Corona crisis and the economic incentives announced by the government.

Leader of the opposition
Anwar Ibrahim, head of the former ruling "Hope" coalition, has shifted from being a waiting prime minister to the head of the opposition in parliament.

In response to a question during a public dialogue via Facebook, he said that the Secretary-General of his opposition coalition had officially informed the Speaker of Parliament that (Anwar Ibrahim) would be the head of the opposition bloc.

The current Chief Minister of Defense, Ismail Sabri, was the head of the opposition bloc before the collapse of the Mahathir government, while the agreement to form the "Hope" coalition - before the May 2018 elections that he won - stipulated that Anwar should be the eighth prime minister to succeed Mahathir two years after receiving Authority.

But the political crisis that rocked the "Hope" coalition brought Yaseen (Chairman of the Mahathir Party) to power, and the former leaders of Mahathir and Anwar returned to their struggle for power again alongside a third party, Yassin, "unelected to head the government" which enjoys the support of the king and most of the Malay majority parties In the country such as the United Malay National Organization (AMNO) and the Islamic Party and the Earthlings (Persato).

Mahathir, about 95 years old, has not commented on recent developments, but he has repeatedly accused the current prime minister of betraying him and questioning his ability to gain the confidence of parliament, and that he is the one who enjoys the support of the majority of parliament members.

Yassin formed a party alliance called the "National Contract" after his withdrawal from the "Hope" coalition and the collapse of the previous government on February 24, and the king tasked him with forming a new government on the second of last March.

Mahathir's son There is an
increasing expectation that Makhir (Ibn Mahathir) will lose the position of head of the government of Kedah state, in the north of the Malaysian peninsula, where the Islamic Party considered that the fall of the state government has become an achievement, after the members of the "Persato" party withdrew their confidence from the prime minister.

The Islamic Party occupies the largest number of seats in the Legislative Council in the Wilayat of Qadah (15 of 35 seats) and with its joining the government, and with the continuing division in the "Persato" party, the opportunity of Makkhar to continue to fade.

Many associate the continuation of the awakening in power with the presence of his father, Mahathir, where he repeatedly lost power with the departure of his father from it, as happened in 2016 when his father disagreed with the former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razzaq.