Call for urgent meeting of Malaysia's Parliament

Malaysia's opposition politicians have called for an urgent meeting of the Dewan Rakyat (Lower House of Parliament) to confirm that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has the backing of the majority of lawmakers, in response to news that the next parliamentary sitting has been postponed to May 18.

Speaker Ariff Yusof said in a statement yesterday that he received a letter from the Premier informing him that the sitting set for next Monday had been pushed back to May 18. The letter also set out the new dates for the House of Representatives to convene this year.

"I found the dates for the sessions are in line with... the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders," Tan Sri Ariff said.

Critics and members of civil society had called for Parliament to convene as soon as possible, after Tan Sri Muhyiddin was sworn in on Sunday amid claims from former ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) that it, and not Mr Muhyiddin's Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance, was supported by the majority of the country's 222 MPs.

Opponents of the new PN government, including PH leader and former premier Mahathir Mohamad, have expressed concerns that if Parliament is not convened soon, the ruling coalition will have time to entice MPs to cross the aisle.

Mr Muhyiddin was appointed Prime Minister after a week-long political crisis triggered by the departure of dozens of lawmakers from PH on Feb 24.

However, with a Cabinet yet to be appointed, there would be no legislative agenda for the original March 9 to April 16 sitting set by the previous government.

Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh said that while the postponement was expected, as the new government has just been installed, an urgent sitting can still be held earlier.

"The Prime Minister should call an urgent meeting of Parliament now in the public interest to determine if he commands majority support in the House, as there are doubts as to whether he does," he said in a statement yesterday.

Mr Ramkarpal, a lawyer from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), one of the parties in PH, was referring to parliamentary rules allowing the prime minister to call a special meeting for a specific purpose.

Meanwhile, veteran DAP leader Lim Kit Siang said the delay is seen as a sign of weakness, considering there have been questions raised about Mr Muhyiddin's legitimacy.

In a statement yesterday, he said Mr Muhyiddin should follow the example set by Malaysia's third prime minister Hussein Onn, who in 1976 held an emergency meeting three days after the death of his predecessor Abdul Razak to show he had the confidence of the Lower House.

"Is Muhyiddin prepared to convene an emergency meeting of Parliament in March itself, as Tun Hussein undoubtedly would have done in the present circumstances, to secure a vote of confidence from MPs?" asked Mr Lim.

The new dates for Parliament to meet are May 18, in the final week of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, to June 23, with a week-long break for the Aidilfitri celebration at the end of the month.

A second session follows from July 27 to Aug 27, and a final period from Sept 28 to Nov 26, with next year's budget to be tabled on Oct 2.