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PETALING JAYA: Muar Syed Saddiq MP Syed Abdul Rahman apologized to supporters who were disappointed by the decision made by the vast majority of opposition MPs opting for an individual vote for the approval of the 2021 budget in the political stage yesterday.
“I cannot speak on behalf of the other parliamentarians, but personally I think, in hindsight, that what happened was wrong and I want to apologize,” he said today in an interview with BFM radio.
Syed Saddiq explained the decision by saying there was a last-minute instruction not to pressure the bloc to vote against the budget, which led to confusion among opposition MPs.
“Yesterday there was a lot of confusion and lack of direction.
“So when they named the 13 deputies, the list kept changing because many stood up but then proceeded to sit down again.”
He continued to believe that the opposition parties should have opted for the block vote.
“Even if we lose, it is still our duty to vote,” he said.
Syed Saddiq expected opposition MPs to be more coordinated in the committee’s budget debate phase starting Monday.
“We need to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
The federal budget was approved at the policy stage in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday after the majority of the deputies present supported it through a voice vote.
However, Amanah’s Mahfuz Omar, who was unhappy with the voice vote, stood up requesting a block vote, but the move was unsuccessful with only 12 other MPs supporting him. The minimum requirement is 15.
