Dr M's team files fresh no-confidence motion against PM as Umno sways

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his allies are renewing efforts to oust Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister as cracks begin to appear in the Perikatan Nasional government with Umno swaying in its support for the ruling coalition.

Kubang Pasu MP Amiruddin Hamzah, who is aligned to Mahathir, confirmed that he filed a new no-confidence motion against Muhyiddin yesterday.

"I have sent a letter dated Oct 15 to the Dewan Rakyat speaker about a no-confidence motion against the prime minister for the coming Parliament sitting.

"This effort is to restore the people's mandate in the 14th general election in the face of an incompetent and unstable government," he said in a statement.

The next Dewan Rakyat sitting is set to commence on November 2.

Mahathir himself had previously tried to get his no-confidence motion tabled in the Dewan Rakyat during two earlier sessions.

However, due to parliamentary conventions that prioritises government motions and bills over those from the opposition, they have not been able to go to the floor for a vote.

A notable agenda for the November sitting is the tabling of Budget 2021 which can also serve as a proxy for a confidence vote.

Amiruddin (above), who shared his letter to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun, had requested to table a motion to determine if Muhyiddin still enjoyed majority support in the Dewan Rakyat.

At present, the prime minister has the support of 113 MPs in the 222-member House. His government will collapse with the defection of only three MPs.

Hamzah is part of Mahathir's group of MPs who were purged from Bersatu after they opposed Muhyiddin's cooperation with Umno to form the PN government.

They are in the midst of forming a new party - Parti Pejuang Tanah Air.

Other MPs who are part of this group are Mukhriz Mahathir (Jerlun), Shahruddin Md Salleh (Sri Gading) and Maszlee Malik (Simpang Renggam). Mahathir is the Langkawi MP.