SHAH ALAM - If a change of government occurs in the near future, the formation of a new government led by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) cannot be dubbed as a "backdoor" (tebuk atap) government.
Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said this was because the unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim never actually obtained the majority support of MPs through a single-party coalition, but instead merely considered as a minority government forming a mixed government.
As a result, he said, if a government change became a reality, the formation of the future new government should be considered a normal change that did not violate the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
"It's different when the existing government is formed through majority support; perhaps that's the reason they said they should be given more space and time. The current unity government is a minority government.
"So, if a change of government happens later, it cannot be termed as a 'tebuk atap' or 'tebuk dinding' government. Instead, it is a normal process of government change," he said, yesterday.
Shahidan said this in response to the claims made by PN election director Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, that the opposition coalition already has sufficient support from MPs to take over the administration of the country.
The results of the 15th general election (GE15) saw Pakatan Harapan (PH) securing 82 seats, PN (74), Barisan Nasional (30) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (23).
This was different from GE14 in 2018 when PH easily won the majority with 113 seats.
On the issue of the statutory declaration (SD) to PN which claimed that Sanusi has sufficient numbers, Shahidan declined to comment further and asked Sinar to seek clarification from the Kedah Menteri Besar himself.
"The effort to change the government can only be realised at the discretion and consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
"However, for those who say the SD is irrelevant, it should be reminded that in the Federal Constitution, any MPs proven to have obtained the most support from other MPs can become the Prime Minister at the discretion and consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," he said.