Muhyiddin loses majority; Ismail Sabri PM
In August 2021 Malaysia changed prime minister for the second time in eighteen months without a general election, and this page sets out the constitutional rule that produced that outcome, the sequence of events, and what remains disputed about it.
what happened
Malaysia's Prime Minister holds office only for as long as he commands the confidence of a majority in the Dewan Rakyat. Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution states the rule directly: if that confidence is lost, then unless the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament at the Prime Minister's request, the Prime Minister must tender the resignation of the Cabinet. The matching provision, Article 43(2)(a), tells the Agong to appoint as Prime Minister the member of the House who in his judgment is likely to command a majority. Nothing in that pair requires a general election. A Prime Minister can therefore be replaced mid-term, inside the same Parliament, and in 2021 that is what happened.
The majority behind Muhyiddin Yassin came apart over several weeks. On 7-8 July 2021 UMNO's supreme council decided, in an announcement by party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, to withdraw support from him with immediate effect. Later in July a dispute over the Emergency Ordinances drew a public statement from Istana Negara, which recorded the Agong's displeasure that a minister's account in Parliament on 26 July was, in the palace's words, inaccurate and had misled members of the Dewan Rakyat. On 3 August Zahid said enough UMNO MPs had signed statutory declarations withdrawing support. Parliament was set to reconvene on 6 September with a confidence vote the next day, and on 13 August Muhyiddin offered opposition MPs a package of measures — a two-term limit, an anti-party-hopping law, parity of allowances for the opposition leader, and a role in bills and budgets — in exchange for their support at that vote. He framed it as the alternative to a vacuum, arguing that if he resigned the whole Cabinet went with him and that no other MP could show a majority either, and he promised a general election by the end of July 2022. Pakatan Harapan and UMNO both rejected the offer within hours.
The vote never happened. On 16 August Muhyiddin went to Istana Negara and tendered his own resignation and that of the whole Cabinet, telling the country he had done so because he had lost the majority support of members of the lower house. The Agong accepted the resignation, asked him to stay on as caretaker, and the palace statement said that dissolving Parliament for an election was not the best option given the pandemic. The Agong then directed all 220 MPs to submit statutory declarations naming their preferred successor. Those were received by 18 August; on 19 August the 114 MPs who had named Ismail Sabri Yaakob were summoned to the palace in person; on 20 August the Agong met the Malay Rulers before announcing the appointment.
Istana Negara said the appointment was made under Articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a), on the basis of the 114 declarations. Ismail Sabri, then UMNO vice-president, MP for Bera and the outgoing deputy prime minister, was sworn in on 21 August 2021. The palace also said the Agong had told party leaders on 17 August that the new Prime Minister should table a confidence motion in the Dewan Rakyat as soon as possible. Attorney-General Idrus Harun said in early September that no such motion was legally required, a position some lawyers accepted and others, including Bar Council constitutional law co-chair Karen Cheah and lawyer Nizam Bashir, rejected. When Parliament did resume — on 13 September rather than the 6 September announced in August — the motion was not on the agenda: the Order Paper circulated on 7 September for the sitting running to 12 October 2021 contained no confidence motion, and no published explanation of the omission has been located. Instead, on 13 September the government and Pakatan Harapan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability.
What remains disputed is mostly the "why" and the "should". UMNO's stated reasons, in Zahid's 8 July statement, were seven conditions the party said it had set when the government was sworn in in March 2020 — including the economy and an effective pandemic plan — which he said the government had failed, together with what he called abuse of the emergency and the failure to reconvene Parliament promptly after the Agong and the Malay Rulers called for it. Muhyiddin's own account pointed instead to pressures he said he refused, without naming anyone. Four opposition party leaders — Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman of Muda, Mohd Shafie Apdal of Warisan, Wilfred Madius Tangau of Upko and Baru Bian of PSB — said in a joint statement that he had tried "to buy support" through the anti-hopping law; Muhyiddin's own stated reason for the package was that resigning would bring down the Cabinet with him when no other MP could show a majority, leaving the country without a government mid-pandemic. Mahathir Mohamad argued that he too had once claimed 114 MPs and had not been given the same opening. On the monarchy, constitutional scholar Shad Saleem Faruqi has written that two consecutive governments were formed at the palace rather than through an election or a floor vote, which he reads as a substantial enhancement of the monarchy's role; other constitutional writers, including in the *Journal of the Malaysian Parliament*, read the same events as the exercise of an express appointment power that Article 43(2)(a) itself limits, since the Agong must appoint whoever is likely to command a majority. For a first-time voter the durable point is narrower and factual: under Articles 43(4) and 43(2)(a), a change of Prime Minister does not by itself trigger a general election.
the working
What the sources say
established
Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution provides: "If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet."
Federal Constitution of Malaysia · Constitution of Malaysia · Federal Constitution of Malaysia
established
Article 43(2)(a) requires the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to appoint as Prime Minister a member of the House of Representatives "who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority" of that House.
Federal Constitution · Constitution of Malaysia · Federal Constitution of Malaysia
established
Article 40(2) lists functions the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may exercise in his discretion, including the appointment of a Prime Minister under Article 40(2)(a) and the withholding of consent to a request to dissolve Parliament.
Federal Constitution · Istana Negara statement of 20 August 2021 citing Articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a)
established
Taken together, these provisions allow a change of Prime Minister between general elections: the incumbent resigns under Article 43(4) and the Agong appoints a successor under Articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a), with no requirement that Parliament first be dissolved.
established
On the night of 7 July 2021, after a virtual supreme council meeting, UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced in the early hours of 8 July that the party had "officially decided to withdraw its support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin with immediate effect."
Umno withdraws support for PM Muhyiddin with immediate effect · Umno withdraws support from PM Muhyiddin with immediate effect – Zahid
established
Free Malaysia Today's report of the same announcement records that of 46 eligible supreme council members, 35 backed withdrawing support unconditionally and one opposed.
established
On 26 July 2021 the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law), Takiyuddin Hassan, told the Dewan Rakyat that the government had revoked all six Emergency Ordinances with effect from 21 July 2021.
Istana Negara statement of 29 July 2021 · Istana: Takiyuddin misled Parliament on EO
established
On 29 July 2021 Istana Negara, through Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, issued a statement recording the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's displeasure, stating that the minister's 26 July statement in Parliament "is inaccurate and has misled the members of the Dewan Rakyat," and that the ordinances had been revoked without royal assent and without the debate the Agong had directed.
established
On 3 August 2021 Zahid Hamidi told a press conference that a sufficient number of UMNO MPs had signed statutory declarations withdrawing support from Muhyiddin, and that the declarations had been presented during an audience with the Agong.
Umno president Zahid claims party's MPs signed declaration withdrawing support · Umno's Ahmad Maslan confirms he is among signatories of declaration to withdraw support
established
On 12 August 2021 it was announced, citing a notice from Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun, that Parliament would reconvene on 6 September 2021 and that a confidence vote on Muhyiddin would be taken on 7 September 2021.
Parliament to resume Sept 6 · Reforms as bribes: opposition lambasts Muhyiddin's hypocrisy
established
On 13 August 2021 Muhyiddin publicly offered opposition MPs a package in exchange for support at that confidence vote, including a two-term limit for the Prime Minister, an anti-party-hopping law, opposition leader remuneration equivalent to a senior minister, and opposition participation in bills and budgets.
Malaysian leader seeks opposition backing to stay in power · The Vibes
established
On 16 August 2021 Muhyiddin had an audience at Istana Negara and tendered the resignation of himself and the entire Cabinet, saying in a televised address that he had done so "because I have lost the majority support of lower house members."
Muhyiddin: I have submitted my resignation as PM and Cabinet's resignation to the King · Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and cabinet resign
established
The Agong accepted the resignation the same day and consented to Muhyiddin continuing as caretaker Prime Minister until a successor was appointed; the palace statement said that dissolving Parliament for a general election was not the best option given the Covid-19 situation.
Agong accepts Muhyiddin's resignation · Agong accepts PM's resignation
established
The Agong directed all 220 sitting members of the Dewan Rakyat to submit statutory declarations naming their preferred candidate for Prime Minister; the declarations were received by 18 August 2021.
Istana Negara statement · First 2 batches of 114 MPs supporting Ismail Sabri arrive at Istana
established
On 19 August 2021 the 114 MPs who had named Ismail Sabri Yaakob in their statutory declarations were summoned to Istana Negara for an audience with the Agong; they came from Barisan Nasional, Bersatu, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, PBS, STAR and several independents.
Free Malaysia Today · Ismail Sabri arrives at Istana Negara with other Umno MPs
established
On the afternoon of 20 August 2021 the Agong convened a special meeting with the Malay Rulers at Istana Negara before the appointment was announced.
Malay Rulers Conference to determine PM9 today · Sultans leave Istana Negara following Conference of Rulers meet on next PM
established
Istana Negara announced on 20 August 2021, through Comptroller Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, that the Agong had appointed Ismail Sabri Yaakob — then UMNO vice-president, MP for Bera and outgoing deputy prime minister — as the ninth Prime Minister, on the basis of support from 114 MPs and pursuant to Articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution.
The Vibes · Malaysia king appoints Ismail Sabri Yaakob as new prime minister
established
Ismail Sabri took the oath of office before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara on 21 August 2021.
established
No general election was held; the transfer took place within the 14th Parliament elected in May 2018, and this was the second change of Prime Minister in that Parliament, roughly eighteen months after the first.
established
In a statement issued on 18 August 2021, Istana Negara said the Agong had told party leaders on 17 August that the incoming Prime Minister should table a motion of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat as soon as possible to establish that he had the confidence of the majority.
Istana Negara statement of 18 August 2021 · No need for Ismail to table confidence motion
established
On 4 September 2021 Attorney-General Idrus Harun said there was no need for Ismail Sabri to table a confidence motion, arguing that the Agong holds the power of appointment under Articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a) and that testing the appointment elsewhere would displace that power.
established
The confidence motion the Agong had asked for did not appear at the first sitting after the appointment. The Dewan Rakyat resumed on 13 September 2021 rather than the 6 September announced in August, and the Order Paper for that sitting, running to 12 October 2021, was circulated on 7 September and contained no motion of confidence in the Prime Minister; the motions listed were the selection of a Deputy Speaker, an order to the Inspector-General of Police not to obstruct MPs attending Parliament, and the motion of thanks on the royal address.
established
On 8 September 2021 DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng publicly asked Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun to explain the absence of the confidence vote, saying the Agong had issued the direction on 17 August in the presence of the party leaders, the Speaker and the Attorney-General. The Speaker's own account of the omission was not reported alongside it.
established
On 13 September 2021 the government and Pakatan Harapan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability covering Covid-19 measures, administrative transformation, parliamentary reform, judicial independence, the Malaysia Agreement 1963, and a steering committee; Ismail Sabri signed for the government, with Anwar Ibrahim, Mohamad Sabu, Lim Guan Eng and Wilfred Madius Tangau signing for Pakatan Harapan.
Govt-Pakatan ink historic deal to ensure political stability · PM seals Transformation & Political Stability MoU with PH
uncertain
No public record located shows Muhyiddin Yassin requesting Parliament’s dissolution before resigning on 16 August 2021; his official address and Istana Negara’s statement record his resignation and its acceptance rather than a dissolution request.
uncertain
No confidence motion tabled and voted on during Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s term was identified in the records searched; a definitive claim that none was ever tabled would require an audit of every sitting’s Order Paper and Hansard.
established
Standing Order 15 gives government business priority and provides that it is arranged as the government considers fit and notifies to the Secretary; the Attorney-General publicly argued that a confidence motion was unnecessary after the King’s appointment, but no public explanation identifies the office-holder who omitted the particular motion.
uncertain
No UMNO Supreme Council minutes or official vote record for the 7–8 July 2021 withdrawal decision has been located; the reported 35-of-46 tally remains an attributed media account rather than a published primary result.
searched: UMNO and contemporaneous-news records
established
Zahid Hamidi’s 2021 UMNO assembly speech publicly described one of the seven March 2020 conditions: dissolution of Parliament in January 2021 and a general election by March 2021; a complete primary document setting out all seven conditions was not located.
where accounts differ
The parts nobody agrees on
contested
Why UMNO withdrew support is contested. Zahid Hamidi's 8 July 2021 statement framed the decision around seven conditions UMNO said it had attached to supporting the government when it was sworn in on 11 March 2020, among them realising the aspirations of the people and addressing the economic slowdown, and putting in place an effective plan to manage the Covid-19 pandemic. Zahid said: "Muhyiddin failed to fulfil these requirements and implement them satisfactorily. It is clear the government failed in fulfilling the aspirations of the rakyat," and, of the seven terms, "Based on the seven terms listed above, I would like to state here that Muhyiddin's government has failed." He also cited what he called abuse of the emergency, and the government's failure to act immediately on calls by the Agong and the Malay Rulers to reconvene Parliament. Zahid called on Muhyiddin to resign so that Parliament could appoint an interim prime minister, and said an election should be called once the country reached herd immunity through the vaccination programme.
contested
Muhyiddin gave a competing account in his resignation address, saying he could have taken "the easy way" of sacrificing his principles to stay in office and that he "would never, ever be an accomplice to kleptocrat groups, disrupt the independence of the judiciary and sideline the Federal Constitution just to remain in power." He did not name individuals.
contested
Whether Muhyiddin's 13 August offer was a legitimate reform package or an inducement is contested. Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal, Upko president Wilfred Madius Tangau and PSB's Baru Bian said in a joint statement they were "really disgusted by the hypocrisy shown by Muhyiddin, especially when he tried to buy support through the anti-hopping law," and called on him to resign.
contested
Muhyiddin's own account of the offer, given in the same televised address, was that it was the alternative to a vacuum during a pandemic. He said the Cabinet had agreed "we will discuss with the leaders of other parties outside PN to pass the confidence vote on the prime minister in the Dewan Rakyat," and explained his decision not to resign this way: "If I resign today, it's not only me but the whole cabinet that has to resign too. This means that the PN government will fall. I think no other MP has the majority hence no prime minister can be appointed according to the federal constitution. If there is no PM, it means there is no cabinet and no government. What will happen in such a situation?" He tied the proposal to the vaccination programme, asking which government would carry it out "when we are just two months away from achieving herd immunity," and said a government with bipartisan support "will be more stable and inclusive" and would "enable opposition parties to play a check and balance role more effectively." He also undertook that the 15th general election would be held no later than the end of July 2022.
established
Muhyiddin made the reforms conditional rather than unconditional, which is part of what the dispute is about: he said the Constitutional Amendment Bill introducing a two-term limit and the Anti-Party Hopping Bill would be tabled only if the government obtained more than two-thirds bipartisan support across the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara. Pakatan Harapan's presidential council and UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi both rejected the offer the same evening, Pakatan Harapan saying the address was itself an admission that he had lost his majority and that Article 43(4) required him to resign.
contested
Whether a newly appointed Prime Minister must face a confidence vote is contested among lawyers. Attorney-General Idrus Harun said no such requirement exists; Bar Council constitutional law co-chair Karen Cheah disagreed, noting the palace had said confidence "should be confirmed at the Parliament" and that "constitutionally, all MPs should not fear going through the process of a confidence vote"; lawyer Nizam Bashir called the AG's position "not legally sound or correct in law." Lawyers Aliff Benjamin and New Sin Yew agreed with the AG that the Constitution contains no express requirement.
contested
Whether the 2020-2021 transitions expanded the monarchy's practical role is contested. Constitutional law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi writes that the period "has seen a tremendous enhancement in the powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers, substantially departing from their Westminster-modelled constraints," and observes that "both governments since February 2020 were created at the Istana rather than as a result of the electoral process or a vote of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat."
contested
The competing reading is that the Agong was exercising an express power the Constitution has always contained, and one that is limited rather than open-ended. Writing in the *Journal of the Malaysian Parliament* in 2021, Abdul Mu'iz Abdul Razak of UiTM's Faculty of Law and Wan Noorzaleha Wan Hasan, a research officer at the Parliament of Malaysia, argue that Article 40(2) confers explicit discretionary powers in specified situations, of which the appointment of the Prime Minister is the first, and that "this discretion afforded is not absolute on the behest of His Majesty. The discretion is qualified by the requirement in Article 43(2)(a) that the prospective candidate for the premiership shall have the majority support of the House of Representatives." They cite *Tun Datu Hj. Mustapha v Tun Datuk Adnan Robert and Datuk Pairin Kitingan* [1986] 2 MLJ 420, in which the court held that a Head of State who appointed a Chief Minister without taking into account the number of seats each party had won would be "acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally." On the February 2020 change they write that by canvassing every MP directly the Agong "managed to discern a viable coalition" — that is, that polling MPs was a method of establishing the Article 43(2)(a) majority, not a substitute for it. Their article was published in 2021 and addresses the February 2020 appointment; the KB has not located a comparable treatment of the August 2021 appointment by the same authors.
contested
Attorney-General Idrus Harun's September 2021 position is the same argument applied to the confidence-motion question: that the appointment power under Articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a) belongs to the Agong, and that requiring the appointment to be validated elsewhere would displace a power the Constitution assigns to him. Critics answered that the Agong himself had asked for the vote, so a confidence motion could not be an affront to a power he was exercising.
contested
Whether the statutory-declaration process was applied consistently across the two changes of government is contested. Mahathir Mohamad said on 24 August 2021: "I had the support of 114 MPs and I should have been allowed to form the government," and "I should have led the government, but Muhyiddin was appointed and I wasn't given a chance to make a presentation."
uncertain
The exact number of MPs who nominated Anwar Ibrahim in the 18 August statutory declarations was widely reported as 106 but was not stated in the Istana Negara announcement, which confirmed only the 114 figure for Ismail Sabri.
still being researched
- The Istana Negara statements of 16, 18 and 20 August 2021 are publicly known through news reports quoting them rather than from a full published text.
- Which individual MPs named which candidate in the statutory declarations of 18 August 2021; the breakdown was never published.
- Which office-holder decided not to list the confidence motion the Agong requested on 17 August 2021.
- What the remaining six conditions in UMNO’s March 2020 support for the government were.