Malaysia’s new Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, passed a confidence vote on Monday by winning a majority of votes in Parliament, thus confirming his legitimacy as leader of the unity government he heads.
The vote took place after the deputies elected Johari Abdul of the Pakatan Harapan Party (PH) as the new Speaker of the House. Johari himself has gone on to confirm the result of the vote, according to the New Straits Times.
However, because the vote was not recorded electronically, MPs were unable to ascertain whether he had a two-thirds vote in favor of the House, which would make him the first Malaysian minister to do so in nearly two decades.
On Friday, the leaders of the country’s five main political formations signed a memorandum of understanding to support the administration that pointed to it winning two-thirds support.
Under the agreement, all parties and coalitions must vote in favor of the prime minister on all issues related to the confidence question. However, some opposition MPs have questioned the legitimacy of the new government and pointed out that the memorandum is not entirely constitutional.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
