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Amazing and unprecedented events are taking place as the annual budget is debated in Parliament.
In October, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong advised MPs to prioritize the welfare of the people and pass the 2021 budget. That came as a surprise. Earlier this month, he called on the government to consider all suggestions from the public and formulate a budget that is inclusive and comprehensive. He said the budget should focus on the well-being of the people, curbing the spread of Covid-19 and economic recovery.
Yesterday, even Inspector General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador urged MPs to pass the budget to allow the police to maintain security and public order.
On November 24, 20 Barisan Nasional MPs who are ministers and deputy ministers joined to declare their support for the 2021 Budget presented by the Muhyiddin Yassin government.
And the Federal Territory Information Department has been criticized for sending its vans to advertise the benefits of the Budget 2021 in public places like wet markets.
The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government appears to have used various methods to convince people that it is a budget in their interest. For example, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said in the middle of the month that the government would not be able to pay the salaries of civil servants and provide assistance to leaders in the fight against Covid-19 if the 2021 budget is not approved. .
Either the PN government hopes to create the impression that parliamentarians who oppose the budget do not have the people’s interest at heart or to get the public to pressure their MPs to vote for the budget, or both. Why else should I try to convince the people on the street when it is the deputies who vote for it?
In all my years of journalism, I have not come across ministers from any party in the ruling coalition, and that part of them too, who come together to say they support the budget. I also know that such actions are not spontaneous; they are almost always orchestrated.
Now we hear that the vote on the budget could be delayed to allow ministers to complete the response to the issues raised in the Dewan Rakyat. Due to the current reduced debate times, ministers have been given only 20 minutes to say their piece, so there is not much they can respond to. Therefore, some are likely to suspect that this delay is simply to buy more time for the government, time to “convince” more MPs to vote for the budget.
Is all of this, then, an indication that Muhyiddin’s faltering government is growing increasingly desperate as the days go by?
Muhyiddin faces an existential dilemma: if he loses the budget vote, it would indicate that his government does not have the support of the majority in Dewan Rakyat. He became prime minister by convincing the king that he has majority support in Parliament, not by popular vote.
Then pressure will build on him to resign, especially since his legitimacy as prime minister is being questioned even now.
So far, Muhyiddin has cleverly rejected any attempt to get him to demonstrate his majority on the Dewan Rakyat floor. One of the first things he did was replace the Dewan Rakyat’s loudspeaker. Unless the speaker allows the proposed no-confidence motions to be voted on, nothing will come out. And there is no indication that the current speaker is in a rush to debate the motions of no confidence.
In the past, most ordinary people were only interested in budget presentation because that is when they will know what to expect next year, especially in terms of how it affects them personally in terms of taxes.
This year, however, many more people are closely following the budget debates. They not only pay attention to the sums allocated to various ministries and agencies, but they also openly express their views.
Some Malaysians are openly urging their MPs to vote against the budget because they feel there are too many problems with it or that it is unfair. I have received messages or copies of articles – some of them very well argued – about why this quote should be rejected.
This is also unprecedented.
Personally, I am pleased with this new commitment from the public on the budget and its implications. The message being sent is that the people will not keep quiet and allow certain groups of parliamentarians, the elites in power, to trample them as in the past.
They not only want to have a voice, they also want their representatives in Parliament to speak for them and not speak for their respective parties or the government. Of course, not all deputies listen or vote according to the wishes of their constituents. Many will take care of your interests first.
For example, the 20 MPs who openly declared their support for the budget, and thus for the Muhyiddin government, know that they will lose their positions if a new government, especially one led by the opposition coalition, takes office. Of course, there is always the possibility that these deputies have taken their position after having in-depth discussions with their constituents.
On the other hand, we must not forget that some people, including a good number of MPs, simply want the budget to be defeated so that a new government can take over.
I have heard arguments that all deputies should follow the King’s advice. I am also hearing arguments that MPs will not go against the King’s advice if they reject the budget because the government has not followed the King’s advice to have a comprehensive and inclusive budget that takes into account the well-being of all citizens.
At this time it appears that only the PPBM – led by Muhyiddin – and the PAS in the PN fully support the budget. There are indications that Umno, who is a key player in all this and part of the PN government, is divided; some of your MPs have said they would support the budget, others want certain changes to the budget made for their support. Some Umno leaders have openly said that their deputies should be able to vote as they wish.
I welcome that. I believe that MPs should vote according to their conscience, after taking into account the wishes of the voters they represent and the future of the nation. That will show that our Members are maturing. That will show that our democracy is maturing.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
