KUALA LUMPUR – In a last-ditch effort to shore up support, Pakatan Harapan (PH) has called on MPs from both sides of the divide to reject Budget 2021 when it is tabled for the third and final reading tomorrow.
In a statement today, the coalition secretariat said lawmakers should vote down the Supply Bill as it does not fulfil the demands and desires of the MPs or the rakyat.
This included issues concerning the Employees’ Provident Fund, bank loan moratorium, aid for frontliners and others affected by Covid-19, unemployment and increasing cost of living.
“PH had previously stated that we will debate the Budget at the policy and committee stages before calling for a division vote in the third reading, which is tomorrow.
“As such, PH urges all MPs, whether with the opposition or the government, who understand that the Budget does not meet the objectives of combating Covid-19, assisting the rakyat and rejuvenating the economy, to reject it tomorrow,” it said.
The statement was jointly signed by the secretaries-general of PKR, Amanah and DAP – Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Datuk Hatta Ramli and Anthony Loke, respectively.
It was issued mere hours after former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Umno’s Gua Musang MP Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah called on all MPs to vote on the Budget’s third reading based on their conscience.
In a rare appearance in a special press conference together, the pair said there is also a possibility that the government will fall tomorrow.
“There is a possibility tomorrow that the government will lose during the third reading of Budget 2021, and those in Parliament will have to think of how the next government will be formed,” Dr Mahathir said.
On November 26, Budget 2021 was passed at the policy stage amid confusion among the opposition bench, after its leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, gave a last-minute instruction not to reject it.
He had said that it would be unwise to reject the entirety of the Budget after a slew of new goodies were announced by Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz for the rakyat.
Anwar had maintained that the Budget could still be rejected at the committee stage, when each ministry’s allocation is put up for vote, and during the third and final reading. – The Vibes, December 14, 2020
