KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim secured a vote of confidence during his first parliament session as the country’s top leader on Monday (Dec 19), confirming the legitimacy of his leadership and the unity government he leads.

The vote of confidence was done via a voice vote only, with no call for a bloc vote. Newly-elected Speaker of Parliament Johari Abdul confirmed that a majority of Members of Parliament (MP) supported the vote, eliciting applause from the chamber.

Earlier, parliament elected Mr Johari, who is from Pakatan Harapan's (PH) Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), as the new speaker and his two deputies, Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Ramli Md Nor and PH's Alice Lau.

Last Friday, leaders of five political coalitions and parties in Mr Anwar’s government signed a memorandum of understanding to support his administration, which Mr Anwar believes would secure a vote of confidence from 148 MPs, or a two-thirds majority out of 222 seats.

The five are PH, BN, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Parti Warisan (Warisan).

Under the agreement, all parties and coalitions should vote to support the prime minister in all matters related to confidence and supply, and matters that can affect the legitimacy of the government.

During the debate ahead of the confidence vote on Monday, parliament turned into a shouting match, with some MPs on both sides of the aisle trading personal attacks and speaking over each other.

MPs from the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition questioned the legitimacy of Mr Anwar's government, calling some parts of the MOU "unconstitutional".

They also highlighted how four GRS MPs who quit the Sabah chapter of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) after the election could have breached the anti-party hopping law.

Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, from PH, urged the opposition to "accept reality" that a unity government has been formed, and not uses the debate simply to provoke the government.

(Source CNA)