It should surprise no one that the unity government from day one has been faced with the threat of its removal. In fact, it should be welcomed for the simple reason that it is an unconstitutional government because its appointed prime minister has yet to prove he has the support of the majority of the MPs in the Dewan Rakyat as required by the federal constitution.

The MPs know it — except for the constitutionally ignorant ones — and so do all the discerning voters that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim does not have majority support. Perhaps, he knows it, too, and he may have realised that he had made a mistake when he called for a confidence vote after he made all the political parties involved sign a Memorandum of Understanding that they won’t vote against him as prime minister.

Anwar won that vote with a two-thirds majority because all the MPs whose parties were bound by the MoU had no choice but to vote according to the party. Not allowed to vote freely according to the interests of the voters, because of the MoU, how can that confidence vote legitimise his unity government?

That is the crux of the problem. The point is this issue can be easily resolved. Quash the MoU and call for a confidence vote. That is the constitutional way of legitimising a government when no side has a majority — not the way Anwar went about forming the unity government.

If, indeed, it was a mistake, it can be rectified, as said earlier, without an MoU, and if Anwar himself calls for a motion for a confidence vote.

As it is, under Anwar, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has called previous premiers for questioning on corruption issues. It has also called former finance minister Daim Zainuddin who held office about 40 years ago for questioning also on suspicion of corruption based on the Pandora Papers.

These are serious allegations levelled at these former high-ranking officials. But with what authority is Anwar allowing these investigations when he does not have the mandate of the majority to do so? This can be considered as abuse of power of the highest order because he is acting without majority support and therefore imposing his will on the majority. That is not democratic but dictatorial.

The issue is not whether there was corruption in the dealings of these former public servants but whether Anwar has the right to be PM without majority support and to undertake such actions without the mandate of the people.

He can not hide behind the king for appointing him nor on the MoU for continuing in government as usual. Without a proven majority, he can not claim that he is leading a constitutional government.

The only solution now — even if it is more than one year too late — is to prove the validity of his government. If Anwar has reason to believe he does not have the support of the majority of the MPs — not political parties as it is the MP’s vote that constitutes support not the parties’ word or signing of an MoU — he should call for a confidence vote.

It is not fair of him to ask the Opposition to prove his validity when he knows their motion for a no-confidence vote may be rejected by the Speaker or relegated to the bottom of the businesses of the day and never see the light of day. In addition, because of the MoU, the Opposition knows they may not get the support of the MPs even of those who want a change of government.

Anwar knows all this. So, asking the Opposition to prove his validity is just a ploy because he knows they won’t win.

Anwar needs to show that he is serious about proving that he has the majority support of the Dewan Rakyat. He should prove it without an MoU. He himself has said that the Opposition doesn’t have the support to call for a no-confidence motion. So, he has nothing to fear.

By calling for a confidence vote, the prime minister will settle the issue of the validity of the unity government once and for all. Whether he wins or the Opposition wins, overnight there will be stability because a constitutional government would be formed. All these unceasing moves to topple the government will immediately stop.

If at all such a move is resorted to in the future it will be for very good reasons that MPs or a political party withdraws support. In the immediate future, however, there would be stability and a government will run unobstructed.

I may be sounding like a broken record. But the legitimacy of a government is found in its adherence to the federal constitution in our form of government. A precedent has been set when the process of forming a government when no party or coalition has a majority has been compromised. If it is not corrected now, unscrupulous leaders will use the precedent to justify establishing themselves as a PM and form an unconstitutional government which will be tolerated.

This can not and must not happen again. By paving the way for a confidence vote Anwar will be setting the example of how to prove the validity of a government. A law or an amendment in standing orders to allow for MPs to move a motion for a confidence/no-confidence vote to prove the legitimacy of a government can come later.

For now, Anwar can restore political stability by simply calling for a confidence vote without the MoU. And it should be conducted by ballot not a voice vote so that a majority even by one vote is recorded.