Muhyiddin survives 2021 budget with 3 vote majority
FMT news
15 December 2020
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite facing a threat of failing after a warning by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Umno stalwart Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the 2021 budget was passed narrowly with 111 ayes, 108 nays and one abstention.
Tengku Razaleigh abstained while two of the 222 MPs have died — Liew Vui Keong (Warisan-Batu Sapi) and Hasbullah Osman (BN-Gerik).
The passing of the budget proved Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s majority support in the House and he will continue to head the government.
As soon as the budget was passed, the unhappy opposition MPs shouted “pengkhianat” (traitors). This came after the government MPs had celebrated with shouts of “takbir”.
There had been concerns within the corridors of Putrajaya that the prime minister would face a challenge to his leadership if the opposition MPs manage to block the third and final vote to pass the 2021 budget.
The budget was tabled on Nov 6 and is the biggest ever, with a record RM322.5 billion spending next year, up 2.5% from this year. It seeks to spur activity in an economy badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yesterday, in a joint press conference, Mahathir and Tengku Razaleigh said the country needed a government that genuinely cared for the people and the development of the nation, hinting that the Perikatan Nasional administration could fall at the vote.
Earlier, the Supply Bill was passed for third reading with a majority of three votes. There were 111 ayes and 108 nays, with one abstention.
Source: FMT news
