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PETALING JAYA: Former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad says that all MPs from his new party, Pejuang, will reject the 2021 budget because the government has not taken into account the opinions given to improve the budget.
He also accused the government of threatening the deputies saying that by rejecting the budget, public officials and front-line officials will not be paid.
“They are trying to create unrest among the rakyat by saying that if the budget is not approved, financial assistance will not reach the rakyat,” he said today in a blog post on his chedet.
The wrestler has four deputies, namely Mahathir (Langkawi), Mukhriz Mahathir (Jerlun), Amiruddin Hamzah (Kubang Pasu) and Shahruddin Md Salleh (Sri Gading).
Mahathir said that social media users have complained about the budget presented by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz on November 6.
“I have explained before that even if the budget is not approved, it will not stop the payment of salaries, pensions and subsidies of civil servants for the front line.
“It is the same when it comes to the promised financial assistance for the rakyat,” he said.
Mahathir also claimed that the government had allocated appropriations for the avant-garde only until January 2021, but had not informed the people as such.
In addition, he criticized the government, saying that it was practicing double standards on the issue of a 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the peninsula from Sabah.
“The victims are the rakyat. If the rakyat do not follow the rules, they are punished but if there are politicians who favor the government, they are released, ”he said.
He was believed to be alluding to the case of Sabah’s Chief Deputy Minister Jeffrey Kitingan, who is said to have been released by the Health Ministry and the Lembah Pantai District Health Office cut off his bracelet, after being put on in quarantine on November 12. to November 23.
Mahathir said that if the budget is not approved, the current government loses its “legitimacy” since it did not have a majority to approve the budget.
But as the country grapples with the Covid-19 crisis, he said Yang di-Pertuan Agong could appoint a person with majority support in the Dewan Rakyat to be the new prime minister and appoint a new cabinet.
Meanwhile, in an interview with a group of women in Terengganu via Facebook Live today, Mahathir said that ministers and deputy ministers must accept a pay cut.
He argued that this was because with the Covid-19 restrictions, these ministers and vice ministers could not perform the full scope of work required of them, but were still receiving full salaries.
He said the budget should also consider foreign workers who cannot afford the swab tests.
“Although they are not our people, what happens to them will also affect us.
“One of the reasons the virus has spread is because a lot of foreign workers live in crowded places, 15 to 20 people in a room,” he said.
On the participation of women in politics, Mahathir said that there should be more women parliamentarians, as currently the rate is around 15%, that is, 32 out of 222 MPs.
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