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The vote was held after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim questioned the need for additional funds reserved for the Prime Minister’s Department.
This photo from Malaysia’s Department of Information brochure taken and released on November 6, 2020 shows Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in parliament for the presentation of the 2021 budget (Photo: Malaysia’s Information Department )
KUALA LUMPUR: The allocation for the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department (PMD) in the 2021 budget was approved in parliament on Monday (Nov 30), after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim questioned the need for additional funding .
In a bloc vote, 105 deputies supported the budget allocation while 95 deputies voted against. Twenty lawmakers were absent during the vote.
Parliament currently has 220 MPs, as two MPs recently passed away and their seats remain vacant.
The block vote was held after Anwar, in a forceful speech, questioned why RM11.7 billion (US $ 2.87 billion) was allocated for PMD under the 2021 budget. This is 10.2 percent more than the amount reserved in 2020.
He also asked why the PMD had many ministers on its payroll: five incumbent ministers and five vice ministers. He asked why the department had opened offices for various special envoys, including for the Middle East, China and Japan.
“I would like to ask what is the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Because we have appointed (these special envoys) and we burden the people and the country with high management expenses. “
WAGES OF SPECIAL SHIPPERS ARE WASTE, SAYS ANWAR
He added that the salaries of these envoys would be wasted because they could not perform their duties due to border restrictions due to COVID-19.
“Where are these special envoys going? They are all now (required to stay) in Kuala Lumpur,” Anwar said.
In addition, he argued that the work of the special envoys would overlap with the functions of the Malaysian ambassadors under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Anwar also questioned why there was a RM181 million increase in the PMD budget set aside for political contract appointees compared to 2020, arguing that funds should be channeled to frontline workers fighting COVID-19 or Malaysians. who are unemployed.
“We have made public that this is a government willing to help people overcome COVID-19. I would like to ask what is the link between these RM181 million (for politicians appointees) and people who are unemployed and suffering for make a living with COVID -19? “said the opposition leader.
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Anwar and MPs from the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition voted against the PMD assignment on Monday, but it was not enough, as MPs from the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) bloc got more votes.
Anwar and PH have been criticized for not resisting to force a block vote against the 2021 budget at the policy stage last Friday.
The budget was approved by oral vote, as only 13 opposition deputies rose to protest the budget, two less than the quorum required to enforce the block vote.
After Friday’s vote, Anwar acknowledged that he knew MPs in PH, including those from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) wanted to vote against the budget, but he was the one who gave the order for them to stand. . down.
“Even though my colleagues, especially (DAP chief) Lim Guan Eng and (Amanah president) Mohamad Sabu, felt the need for a split at that time, I decided as the leader of the opposition and president of Pakatan Harapan to apply that the party whips not then. “
Last Friday, he also promised that opposition MPs will continue to speak when the budget is debated at the committee stage, and will enforce the block vote if deemed necessary.
The committee stage debate will take place from November 30 to December 15. During the committee stage, each ministry’s budget will be analyzed in detail.
