Newly-minted Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman dismissed the possibility of tabling a vote of no confidence against PM Najib Razak in Parliament, saying Najib clearly had majority support.
“We do not follow such a process. Malaysia cannot have such vote,” she said today, as quoted by MD Izwan of The Malaysian Insider.
Azalina insisted that as Najib headed the Barisan Nasional majority bloc in Parliament, those who wanted to table the motion for a vote could not possibly gain the numbers necessary to oust the PM.
Barisan Nasional holds 132 seats out Parliament’s 222. Najib is the president of BN and its dominant Malay component party, UMNO.
Members of the Federal Opposition have floated the idea of tabling a vote of no confidence against Najib, and urged Barisan politicians disillusioned with Najib’s leadership to support the vote.
PKR had said the opposition would only need 25 BN MPs to throw their support to a motion to remove the Prime Minister.
Najib has been under intense pressure from numerous fronts in recent months, particularly after a report by The Wall Street Journal on July 2 alleged that RM2.6 billion had been transferred into Najib’s personal bank accounts in 2013, two months before the 13th General Elections.
Najib and his defenders have threatened litigation on th WSJ, denied that the money was for Najib’s “personal gain”, and refuted claims that it was from sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The PM now stands by the explanation that the RM2.6 billion was a “political donation” to UMNO from a “friendly Middle Eastern nation” that wished to see Najib’s administration succeed. It was also explained that the money was a reward to Najib and his administration for its efforts to combat the extremist movement ISIS, or Islamic State.
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