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Saturday, July 03, 2021

Test your ‘numbers’ when Dewan resumes, ex-AG advises PM





Tommy Thomas said in the event Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is defeated, he needs to tender his resignation.

PETALING JAYA: The legitimacy of Muhyiddin Yassin’s leadership in commanding majority support in Parliament needs to be tested when the Dewan Rakyat reconvenes, former attorney-general Tommy Thomas said.

He suggested that tabling a motion of confidence is the only solution to the political impasse gripping the country, adding that it must be debated, deliberated and televised for everyone to witness.

“In the event he is defeated by the motion, he needs to tender his resignation as stipulated under Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution,” Thomas said in an online forum titled “Emergency, Democracy, and Rule of Law” organised by Sekhar Institute and The Vibes.

The lawyer pointed out that as decreed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Parliament needs to resume before August and the lower house speaker needs to take heed by allowing a motion of confidence.

The Cabinet will decide when it meets on July 7 on a date to reconvene Parliament.

To a question on what he would have “done differently” if he had stayed on as AG, Thomas said he would not have advised the government to seek an Emergency to curb Covid-19.

“What I would have done is focus on health and the economy. And it is clear that vaccines are the solution.

“I would have advised the prime minister to form a small committee comprising the finance and health ministries to look for vaccines. We would need to be smart and get the deals (done) quickly,” he added.

Thomas said if the government had made this move earlier, then Malaysia could have been on par with countries like the UK and US, in getting their vaccines speedily.

“It was not rocket scientists who made the decision. That would be the first thing I would have focused on, getting vaccines and contracts for vaccines,” he said.

On the current state of affairs in the country, Thomas said it was due to bad governance.

“It was the government that told people to stop working and even stop exercising. They (government leaders) have been a negative force which killed the economy and healthcare system because of wrong policies,” he added.


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