KUALA LUMPUR – As the Dewan Rakyat adjourns for the week, Budget 2021 looks increasingly likely to be passed at the committee stage, with the Perikatan Nasional administration securing victories for all 11 ministries to date.
Four attempts by the opposition to foil the government’s bid to pass the Budget via bloc voting have failed so far, with seven ministries’ budgets passed via a simple voice vote.
The closest the opposition came to blocking a budget was the International Trade and Industry Ministry’s today, when the allocation was passed in a bloc vote with a six-MP majority.
There were 110 MPs in favour of the ministry led by Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, while 104 voted against. Six were not present during the count, four of them being opposition MPs.
Even if the four lawmakers had been present, it would not have made a difference.
Azmin declared the vote a “resounding victory” as questions are asked about Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s support in the House.
“Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch but if the last few days is anything to go by, I daresay it’s been a resounding victory for the rakyat!” tweeted the minister.
“Kudos to all, to my fabulous @MITIMalaysia team and to all the MPs on the right side of history.”
Let's not count our chickens before they hatch but if the last few days is anything to go by, I daresay it's been a resounding victory for the rakyat ! Kudos to all, to my fabulous @MITIMalaysia team and to all the MPs on the right side of history. pic.twitter.com/7Jy7x5eMqh
— Mohamed Azmin Ali • ?? (@AzminAli) December 3, 2020
As things stand, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is still unable to prove his claim, made in September, of majority support in the Dewan Rakyat.
Last week, during the policy-stage vote on Budget 2021, there was confusion on the opposition bench as attempts by several lawmakers to initiate bloc voting failed, with only 13 of the required 15 MPs standing up in support.
Anwar later said he issued a last-minute directive to opposition MPs not to reject the Budget in its entirety, after Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, in his winding-up speech, announced a slew of new goodies.
The Budget could still be rejected at the committee stage when each ministry’s allocation is put to a vote, he said.
With voting at the committee stage yet to be conducted for another 16 ministries, and with the Budget yet to see its third reading, Anwar can still convince some government MPs to reject the spending plan.
If all opposition MPs – 108 – are present for any of the coming voting sessions, all that is needed for the Budget to fail are three government lawmakers to vote against it. – The Vibes, December 3, 2020
.JPG)
