Post of PM deemed vacant once majority is lost, says lawyer

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PETALING JAYA: A prime minister is deemed to have vacated his public office when he loses the support of the majority of Dewan Rakyat members, a lawyer said, citing the legal principle established by a Federal Court about a decade ago.

Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was then under a duty to either dissolve the legislature or find an alternative candidate who commanded the support of the majority of MPs.

“Once the prime minister has lost his majority, he is obliged to resign. If he doesn’t, then his position is automatically vacated. This was held by the Federal Court in the Nizar v Zambry case,” he told FMT.

The lawyer was referring to the dismissal of Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as menteri besar of Perak in February 2009 after the sultan came to the conclusion that he’d lost majority support, based on extraneous factors.

The Ruler had interviewed all 59 assemblymen and received letters and statutory declarations (SDs) to conclude that Nizar no longer enjoyed the support of the majority to remain in his position.


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