Health Ministry Urges Mps To Vote Wisely On Budget 2021

---

 


Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has called on parliamentarians to “vote wisely” on Budget 2021, which is expected to be done tomorrow in the Dewan Rakyat.
He urged lawmakers to do so with the people in mind as the nation battles the Covid-19 pandemic. 
“The ministry’s hope is for the MPs, who were chosen by the rakyat, to vote with wisdom for the good of the people and the country in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The ministry is sure they are aware of the country’s current situation with the pandemic as well as the country’s finances, and we hope they will vote wisely,” said Noor Hisham at a press conference in Putrajaya today.

Budget 2021 has been a contentious one, as it is now being seen as a proxy for a confidence motion for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
It is expected that the Dewan Rakyat will vote on the Supply Bill tomorrow, even though they are three ministers behind schedule in wrapping up the Budget 2021 policy stage debate.
The attention on the voting of Budget 2021 is also because the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) could be down three votes at the moment, giving it a razor-thin majority of 110 votes against the opposition’s 108.
The reduction in votes is due to multiple factors, namely the death of Gerik MP Hasbullah Osman, Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin being under quarantine, and Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah abstaining from the budget debate.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Tengku Razaleigh has also been pushing for a vote of no-confidence against Muhyiddin.
If the budget survives the vote tomorrow, it is still not yet the end of the road.
After MPs vote in the policy stage, votes will be held during the committee stage of the bill’s debate as well.
Usually, any effort to defeat the budget is only done during the policy stage, and the supply bill will pass through the committee stage with voice votes.
However, Pakatan Harapan had in 2017 mounted a surprise ambush during the committee stage, and narrowly lost by just one vote.
Opposition MPs had previously told Malaysiakini that in the event Budget 2021 was not passed, Article 102 of the Federal Constitution could be invoked to table a separate bill to authorise essential spending.
Essential spending could include civil servant emoluments and healthcare expenses needed to battle the Covid-19 pandemic. - Mkini

---