KUALA LUMPUR, JULY 28: Opposition leaders today called on progressive BN leaders to join them in a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and establish a transitional government.

At a joint press conference with DAP and PKR, the newly-formed pro-tem committee of the Gerakan Harapan Baru (GHB) called on ministers ousted in today’s Cabinet reshuffle, and BN MPs who “love Malaysia”, to ally with them to ‘save’ the nation and resolve the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

GHB leader Muhammad Sabu, better known as Mat Sabu, said the transition government can be established as soon as a vote of no-confidence is passed in Parliament by a majority of the MPs.

“We call on MPs from BN to take the drastic action of supporting this transition government, which should be led by an elder statesmen until the 14th General Elections can be called. This transition government’s terms of reference will be the reform of important institutions to ensure the fairness of the next general elections, to uphold the Constitution, and to find a resolution to the 1MDB scandal,” he said.

Najib announced this morning that Pagoh MP Muhyiddin Yassin has been dropped as Deputy Prime Minister, to be replaced with Home Minister Zahid Hamidi in the number two post. Other ministers dropped include Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal, Natural Resources and Environment Minister G. Palanivel, and Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Cooperatives Minister Hasan Malek.

Muhyiddins unceremonious removal was widely speculated to be due to his open criticism of the way the 1MDB scandal was handled, and of Najib’s alleged involvement in embezzling monies of up to US$700 million from the state-owned fund.

PKR secretary general Rafizi Ramli said it was unhealthy to prolong public speculation and to receive negative news from the government on a daily basis.

“This (the call of no confidence vote) is never going to happen in UMNO, so it should start from the opposition. The purpose of such a proposition is to start a new political culture that prioritises the interest of the public,” said Rafizi Ramli.

The Pandan MP also stated that the reason behind the move was to convey a message that all political leaders should put everything aside, and focus on “putting the government back on track”.

DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua, who also attended the press conference, said that the current situation was the most critical time for a vote of no-confidence against Najib.

“The vote of no-confidence and the transition government would be the new alignment of the progressive force as well as the nation itself,” added the Petaling Jaya MP.

– The Rocket