KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof has rejected Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attempt to seek a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The rejection is the second the Speaker has issued over the dispute, after he dismissed Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal’s bid for a related motion of confidence in Dr Mahathir.

According to Mohamad Ariff’s written reply to Dr Mahathir, the latter’s motion did not comply with Standing Order 27 that requires such notices to be submitted to the Secretary of Parliament 14 days ahead of time.

“As such, I will not allow Tun to bring this matter into the meeting,” the Speaker said in the letter.

In a letter dated May 4 that Malay Mail sighted, former prime minister Dr Mahathir notified Parliament of his intention to table a motion of no-confidence against his immediate successor.

The still-born motion had been complemented by Shafie’s motion, which Mohamad Ariff already rejected after deeming it to be unconstitutional.

Parliament is due to convene for the first time this year on May 18, but the meeting that was already delayed from its original slot in March has now been shortened to a single day.

The government truncated the meeting by citing the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason.

Muhyiddin was sworn in as the new prime minister heading the Perikatan Nasional administration despite assertions from Dr Mahathir’s camp that the latter still had the support to be reappointed.

Neither Muhyiddin nor Dr Mahathir has publicly demonstrated that he commanded the majority support needed to be the prime minister and put an end to the dispute.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/05/08/speaker-shoots-down-dr-ms-bid-for-no-confidence-vote-against-muhyiddin/1864194