KUALA LUMPUR – Lawmakers shirked their responsibilities to the electorate when they allowed a backdoor government to push through a budget meant to keep them in power instead of mitigating the economic downturn and the pandemic, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said this after only 13 MPs stood up to call for bloc voting. At least 15 are required for the speaker to order bloc voting.
“When this happened, it showed that a government elected by the people can be toppled midway and replaced by a backdoor (unelected) government,” said the Langkawi MP in a statement today.
“Elections are meaningless when a government, formed through corruption and bribery, can be supported by opposition MPs who never had one ounce of guilt that they may have rescinded their promises to the people.
“This is what happened in Parliament today," he said after the budget was passed at its policy stage.
“The small number of Pejuang MPs and I have decided to continue our struggle to keep our promises to the people. We are principled and responsible elected representatives.”
Dr Mahathir said that this country would be salvaged only by rejecting corruption.
“When criminals and corrupt officials join forces with other fellow wrongdoers to form the government, they will use money to buy votes and prop up their own,” he said.
“When we have the unprincipled and those with poor qualities at the helm, they are willing to sacrifice the people, perhaps even sell the country for their own personal needs.”
Dr Mahathir said his struggle continues in Pejuang together with Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir (Jerlun), Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah (Kubang Pasu) and Datuk Shaharuddin Md Salleh (Sri Gading).
Earlier, Mukhriz tweeted that it was “better to die standing than to live crawling”.
Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the longest serving MP in the country, confirmed that he had left the august house before voting had begun.
It was to signal that he was abstaining as he was of the view that the Speaker Datuk Azhar Azlan Harun should have allowed for the no-confidence motion to be discussed first.
“The proceedings are unconstitutional,” he said. – The Vibes, November 26, 2020
