Patriot Lambasts Hadi as Either a Simpleton or Unprincipled

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Vote of no-confidence is democratic and does not show distrust of Agong.

Veterans’ group Patriot has taken PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang to task for his contention that those pushing for a vote of no confidence against newly-appointed Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin do not trust the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

“This reveals two distinctive characteristics of him. He is either a simpleton, ignorant of the UK Westminster construct of our parliamentary monarchy system; or one who is unprincipled and trying to mislead the rural masses so as to capture their political support,” said Patriot president Brigadier-General (Rtd) Mohamed Arshad Raji in a statement today.

The Patriot chief went on to say that either way Hadi was unfit to be deputy prime minister – “if that is what he is secretly yearning for”.

“Patriot has stated previously that the new prime minister and the newly formed coalition, Perikatan Nasional, must prove their legitimacy in Parliament,” he said.

He pointed out that when the King had interviewed all 222 MPs, there was no clear majority support for any of the prime minister candidates, but Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah had decided that Muhyiddin had the most support at the material time.

However, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad then publicly came out with the list of 114 MPs he said supporting him with their statutory declarations (SD).

“It was akin to an after-thought that carried little weight in law. It now remains for Prime Minister Muhyiddin and his cohorts to show that they have at least 112 MPs’ support. Honour and integrity demand that the newly appointed prime minister should resign if they do not have.

“Hence, testing for majority support with a vote of confidence (or defeating the no-confidence vote) at the quickest possible time is the best way forward,” he said.

Furthermore, he added that it was very telling that only two Asean nations had sent congratulatory messages to Muhyiddin while the other eight Asean members and the world leaders have remained silent.

“Calling for a no-confidence vote does not imply any distrust towards the Agong. In fact, it upholds democratic principles and even strengthens the institutions of government.

“Hadi was not honest and mischievous when he suggested as such. He is parochially selective in interpreting society norms in his own way without deeper thoughts.

“He is no scholar, but no doubt a shrewd politician,” said Arshad, adding that Patriot stood against politicians capitalising on ethno-religious sentiment.