Letters | Motion of confidence in Anwar Ibrahim would allow him to lead Malaysia with a clear mandate
- Readers discuss the Malaysian prime minister’s decision to seek a confidence vote in parliament, and the Brazilian president’s seeming reluctance to relinquish power
The first was a motion of confidence in Hussein Onn who was sworn in as prime minister on January 15, 1976, following the death of Abdul Razak in London on January 14, 1976.
On January 27, 1976, a motion of confidence in Hussein was moved, agreed to and passed by the Dewan Rakyat after a two-hour debate.
The second was a motion of confidence in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who was sworn in as prime minister on October 31, 2003, after Mahathir Mohamad stepped down as the fourth prime minister.
Three days after he was sworn in, on November 3, 2003, a motion of confidence in Abdullah was moved under parliamentary Standing Order 27(3), agreed to and passed by the Dewan Rakyat after another two-hour debate.
None of the motions was seen as doubting the legitimacy of the new prime minister’s appointment or undermining the power of the Malaysian king under the constitution.