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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s first federal budget survived a Parliament vote on Thursday (November 26), ensuring the continuity of his administration amid continued political uncertainty in the country.
The 2021 budget was surprisingly approved by oral vote, and the opposition failed to gather the 15 members of Parliament needed to request a division at second reading in Parliament. It will now move into a three-week committee discussion stage before a third and final reading is passed.
At RM322.5 billion (S $ 106 billion), the budget will be Malaysia’s largest yet.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin had only a single-digit majority in Parliament when his administration introduced the budget, which even faced internal criticism from his government allies Barisan Nasional (BN), who hold the largest number of seats in the Perikatan Nasional administration.
BN deputies unanimously endorsed the bill on Thursday, after weeks of public statements indicating that their support for the expansive budget would be conditioned on certain demands regarding its content.
This was after Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz announced on Thursday several changes to the budget that indicated that some concessions have been made to the BN and also demands from the federal opposition regarding the budget. These included the implementation of a broader loan moratorium, broader retirement eligibility from the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), and increased aid for the front-line and the state of Sabah.
Malaysia’s Sultan King Abdullah Ahmad Shah previously urged lawmakers to unanimously pass the 2021 budget to help the government weather the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in the country, which has sent more than a third of the country. to partial blockades since October.
Last month, Muhyiddin requested an emergency declaration from the King, which would have allowed him to circumvent parliamentary approval of the budget and also delay scheduled by-elections in the country.
However, the king rejected the prime minister’s proposal, but later agreed to declare a localized emergency for the Batu Sapi parliamentary constituency in Sabah to prevent by-elections from being held there after the death of a lawmaker.
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