[ad_1]
KOTA KINABALU: A political analyst says that Warisan’s credibility is unaffected despite the fact that his MPs decide to be absent during block votes to approve budget allocations for various ministries.
Tony Paridi Bagang of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) said he believed that Warisan’s actions were in favor of prioritizing the well-being of the people, particularly Sabahans.
He told the FMT that a credible opposition does not oppose a motion without reason, but rather acts constructively and progressively by prioritizing the interests of the people.
“What we can interpret from Warisan’s action and position is that it is a safe action,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) said that Warisan’s credibility will be judged by the people based on what the party decides to support and reject.
He echoed Bagang in saying that an opposition party should not reject everything put forward by the government, and told the FMT that Warisan needed to choose what to support and what to oppose.
“Previously, the deputies of the current government who used to be in the opposition had also supported the motion to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 years.
“But we also saw them vote against the bill that was said to restore Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners of the peninsula,” he told FMT, referring to the constitutional amendment on the status of Sabah and Sarawak presented by the government of Pakatan Harapan last year. .
Yesterday, the opposition failed in two attempts at block votes to reject allocations under the 2021 budget for the Prime Minister’s Department and the Ministry of Finance. Only 95 deputies voted against it on both occasions.
Today, the appropriations for the plantation industries and the commodity ministry were also approved by a block vote, with only 95 MPs again opposing it.
The government’s victory over the opposition in the three bloc votes was by a margin of between 10 and 13 votes.
It is understood that all eight Warisan MPs were absent yesterday and today.
They are Party Chairman Shafie Apdal (Semporna), Darell Leiking (Penampang), Rozman Isli (Labuan), Isnaraissah Munirah Fakharudy (Kota Belud), Azis Jamman (Sepanggar), Ma’mun Sulaiman (Kalabakan), Ahmad Hassan (Papar ) and Mohamaddin Ketapi (Lahad Datu).
Yesterday, Rozman acknowledged that the absence of Warisan MPs was a deliberate move to show the party’s discontent with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. He added that Warisan intended not to participate during the block votes on the budget indefinitely.
