When Budget 2021 got approved at Dewan Rakyat yesterday, some were relieved and some were dissatisfied. The passing of the Budget 2021 meant that Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin still holds the vote of confidence in parliament.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that even though the Budget 2021 has been approved, there were a lot of details ignored by the Perikatan Nasional government. For this reason, the opposition also agreed to oppose the budget.
“Weaknesses in the Budget has been proven and debated by Parliament members. Budget 2021 shows how much the PN government care more about their political life than the people’s welfare.”
During the Budget 2021 debate in the committee level, some of the issues brought up included:
- Withdrawal of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings
- Lack of safety nets for citizens who do not have EPF savings
- An extremely high allocation of RM40.5 million to the Community Communications Department (JAKOM) and the purpose of the allocated
However, the PN government correlated the approval of the Budget 2021 to frontliners salary which left Parliament members with no choice but to be in solidarity with the government servants who were also affected by the pandemic. On 16 November, Finance Minister, Tengku Zafrul Aziz said that government commitments such as the salaries of civil servants and frontliners who have sacrificed their lives to fight during this pandemic cannot be paid if Budget 2021 is not approved by the Dewan Rakyat.
Anwar said that Malaysia’s Filch ratings’ decline shows how weak is the performance of national economic management. Other aspects such as the corruption index and media freedom will also decline.
“We are returning to the dark era where the government will continue to tread the principles of transparency, good governance and efficient fund management.”
Similar to what Tun Dr Mahathir and Tengku Razaleigh said in their press conference, Anwar also said that confidence from investors will also be affected, and it is likely that regional countries will leave us in various fields, especially the economic and development sectors.
The Opposition Leader feels that the moment the nation needs a new shift in how we should rise from the pandemic’s economic environment as it is today, PN has proved that it is incapable of carrying out its responsibilities effectively.
“The PN government will continue to face confidence problems, and this has been proven today when they only managed to have no more than 112 support. Weak governments like this will continue to submit to greedy characters who are selfish and the welfare of the people will continue to be sacrificed.”
What do you think of this statement by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim? Let us know in the comments section!
Also read: What Happens Now That Budget 2021 Is Approved & PM Still Holds Vote Of Confidence?
