2021 Budget passed via bloc voting

BY CLEMENT ERIK WONG, NATASHA JEE & MARGARET RINGGIT

KUCHING: Finally, after long debates and opposition going against the national budget, the 2021 Budget or 2021 Supply Bill presented by the Perikaitan Nasional (PN) government was passed after its third and final reading via bloc voting in Parliament today.

The RM322.54 billion budget, tabled by Minister of Finance Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz is the biggest budget in the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

A total of 111 MPs voted in favour of the budget, 108 voted against the bill, while one was absent.

The Bill was first tabled on Nov 6; it was passed at the policy stage on Nov 26. The Bill will now move to the Senate before getting the final approval.

Here’s what state leaders and economists have to say about the 2021 Budget.

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Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing

“I am proud of the lawmakers that have voted on the 2021 Budget. The passing of the budget by Malaysian MPs is a landmark decision by our lawmakers. The choice for our MPs was simple, namely people’s livelihood or MP’s personal political interest. Majority choice was people’s livelihood.

So when the 15 General Election (GE 15) comes, voters please cast your votes wisely. The 108 MPs who opposed the budget only care for their own political interest and not the people’s interest. I sympathise with the voters who had voted for the 108 MPs during GE 14.”

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Economic analyst, Associate Prof Datuk Dr Madeline Berma

Interestingly we only see a relatively slight difference in terms of those who agree and disagree on the 2021 Budget. This is a very positive development because it reflects the existence of a thriving democracy in our country where the voices that support and oppose are equally strong. This shows that this budget has been scrutinised. As a Malaysian, I welcome the budget to be implemented and launched as soon as possible to ensure that the budget can ensure that Malaysians of all segments get all the assistance promised in the budget.

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Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang

It is a blessing that the 2021 Budget has been passed amidst all the political manoeuvres by political champions in Malaya to outwit one another. A simple majority means both sides of the divide do not have a strong mandate and Sarawak becomes an important denominator in maintaining a stable government. Sarawakians must rally fully behind Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg to exert undivided influence over Malaya in our bid to demand more benefits to be awarded to Sarawak. It is going to be tough. However, with a little bit of luck on our side, I have full confidence that the future of Sarawak is shining bright and prosperous.

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Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah

Thank God that the 2021 Budget is passed. The budget is an important Bill which if it is not passed, tantamount to a no confidence vote towards the government of the day or the prime minister. God is great and despite the budget being run down by the opposition at every angle during the debate, the Bill is passed. It is a manifestation of support for the prime minister and the present government. Hopefully, the government is allowed to run peacefully as the world and the country is facing a big problem addressing the economic slowdown as well as the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Telang Usan Assemblyman Dennis Ngau

I always have the confidence that the 2021 Budget will eventually pass through despite some attempts to vote against it. For Sarawak, this budget meant a lot to us, because we need input from the federal government to help execute development projects that have been planned for 2021. Congrats to our Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as this is the first budget under PN. We could not risk not being able to roll out development projects next year if the budget is not approved just because people in the Parliament have political differences with one another, at the end of the day, the people are the ones that will suffer.

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Assistant Minister for Women, Family and Childhood Development Datuk Rosey Yunus

Finally, we have the 2021 Budget passed. After having difficulties in the early stage during the process, and now that the Budget is passed through, the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin can now focus to run the government and roll out development projects to the people. This reflects that we in Malaysia have a stable government and we now proceed with the development agenda.