Malaysia's former two-time Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has reportedly sought a motion of no-confidence against current Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, when Parliament convenes on May 18.

Proposed to seek no-confidence motion against current PM

Mahathir sent a letter dated May 4, 2020, to the the Speaker of Parliament's Lower House, Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, stating his intention to table the motion that Muhyiddin does not have the majority support of Members of Parliament (MP) to remain as prime minister, according to The Star.

Mahathir proposed that the Speaker gives him the permission as Langkawi MP to put forward a resolution to decide that Muhyiddin, the Pagoh MP, does not enjoy the support of the other Parliament members.

The news came after Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal had proposed a motion of confidence for Mahathir in a letter to Ariff for the former PM, which was rejected by the speaker.

Speaker rejects proposal for motion of confidence for Mahathir

According to Malaysiakini, the proposal by Shafie was rejected as it was "unconstitutional", stating that it was in violation of Article 43 of the Federal Constitution, as it disputes the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Malaysia's King) in appointing the prime minister.

Malaysia's king, announced on Feb. 29 via the comptroller of the Royal Household that he had selected Muhyiddin as the country's eighth prime minister.

Shafie confirmed with reporters earlier on Thursday (May 7) that he had sent the letter, dated May 1, to the Speaker.

May 18 will be the first Parliament sitting in Malaysia since the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government led by Muhyiddin took over from the Pakatan Harapan alliance.

The new government led by Muhyiddin has been called a "backdoor government", as the current PM was not explicitly elected by the Parliament but appointed by the King.

Muhyiddin had convinced the king that he had the support of a majority of MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, Malaysia's Parliament.

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