KUCHING: Any attempt to legally ensure the elected government gets to stay in office for a full term can be seen as too drastic a move.
In stating this, senior lawyer Datuk Bong Ah Loi said with the amendments to Article 49A of the Federal Constitution where MPs can no longer hop from one party to another, there should be no fear of any ‘Dubai Move’ happening in Malaysia.
“As such, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi proposing the new special bill be tabled to prevent any future attempt at overthrowing an elected government is clearly too drastic.
“It will prevent any vote of no confidence from being tabled against the government of the day even when they are not performing well or have done something bad,” he said when contacted by New Sarawak Tribune.
Although the Bill ‘can’ be passed due to Malaysia being a democratic country, he stressed that it should not be passed.
Taking the United Kingdom as an example, he pointed out that the country had a ‘Fixed Term Parliament Act’.
“The idea behind it was to prevent the government party from calling an election at its convenience and thereby having advantage over the opposition party. However, they abolished it in 2022,” he said.
When Zahid proposed the said Bill, he stated that it would allow an elected government to administer the nation without being threatened by its political enemies.
“I propose that a bill be tabled (to mandate that) if a government is formed by a dominant party, or a combination of parties, with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s consent, then it should remain in power until the end of its (five-year) term.
“If not, we will experience what has happened before, and this is not good for the country and its people,” he said.
