YOURSAY | Budget 2021 tumult over - all eyes now on GE15

YOURSAY | ‘For now, it is better to keep a weak Bersatu at the helm of PN govt, instead of Umno.’

Budget 2021 passes final stage in Dewan Rakyat with three-vote majority

Ferdtan: Many of us are actually relieved that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin survived, just barely.

Why? If Muhyiddin were forced to resign, we are not confident that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim would be the winner.

Umno may seize the opportunity to take over the government via possible groupings like Dr Mahathir Mohamad/Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, or Hishammuddin Hussein/Azmin Ali with the majority of Bersatu MPs, or Najib Abdul Razak/Ahmad Zahid Hamidi with PAS and GPS. Don't forget the palace too.

Therefore, it is better to keep a weak Bersatu at the helm of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, instead of Umno. Once Umno holds the PM post, it would be difficult for Pakatan Harapan to win the next general election.

It is sad that the opposition had to use the Budget 2021 vote as a test of no-confidence vote against the PN government.

Nobody took care to study the budget proposals, which suck. It was a one-sided allocation of funds mainly to PN’s core supporters leaving out fair allocations for other races and as well to SMEs (small and medium enterprises).

SMEs, which are important to the well-being of the country's economy, employed 65.5 percent of the workforce in 2015. The percentage could be higher in 2020. But they were ignored. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.

All this was because the Parliament speaker, acting on behalf of PN government, especially Muhyiddin, had no guts to allow a vote of no-confidence in the House earlier.

If this was done, the budget debate would be more meaningful, and amendments for the good of the nation may be made - without fear of the government being toppled.

Mazilamani: Despite all the hype by the opposition, particularly Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim, it all fizzled out at the third reading, effectively silencing Muhyiddin's detractors.

The time is now right for the trouble-infested prime minister to start charting his own political course.

The first thing he has to do is to distance himself from scheming advisers and certain ministers.

Perhaps even a cabinet reshuffle. He cannot afford to be surrounded by traitors likely to be associated and representing the interest of third parties.

Muhyiddin is obliged to show the rakyat he has a clear mission and vision for the country. The prime minister must now break the divisive policies that are hurting the unity of the people.

We should appreciate and respect God's design and purpose to bring us all together. As such, he should be a prime minister for all Malaysians. Please heal the widening divide and mistrust.

Constitutional Supremacy: The passing of the budget is a plus for Muhyiddin and shows his manoeuvring skills.

On the other hand, we have an unreliable person in Anwar, meeting everyone including Zahid, Muhyiddin, Nazri Abdul Aziz, Shafie Apdal, etc, to cut deals.

He and his party were the single-most cause for destabilising Harapan before the coup in March 2020 with daily attacks on Mahathir. After his initial failures, he refused to accede to DAP and Amanah’s request to allow Mahathir to get the numbers to wrest back the government, and after that went from one failure to another.

Harapan definitely needs to change its leadership and form a coalition with other opposition parties. Anwar could not muster even one vote from Umno. Earlier, he had claimed there was support from 30 Umno MPs.

If Harapan goes into the next election under Anwar, be prepared for the consequences.

WhiteKnight7895: Well, it's time for Anwar to step down as opposition leader as well as from PKR leadership and let Rafizi Ramli and Nurul Izzah Anwar to salvage the party and to find formidable coalition partners in order to win GE15.

It's also timely for DAP to bid farewell to the Lims (Kit Siang and Guan Eng) and let Anthony Loke or Gobind Singh Deo assume leadership.

But please refrain from engaging with Mahathir and Razaleigh.

PurpleJaguar0553: I agree. Anwar has failed again for the third time. Surely, it must be time to call it a day. GE14 was won because we wanted change, a change not led by Anwar but his enemy, Mahathir.

Anwar supposedly leads the charge in the Budget 2021 vote but has yet again failed to show he has the numbers, let alone a formidable and convincing majority.

His dallies with Umno has led to disaster and damaged his reputation and put his leadership into question. It’s time for a new leader to lead the pack.

One who hopefully will not raise false hopes of change and make dubious cries of having a majority, and one who must positively have the ability to pick trustworthy friends.

Capo: What happened to Umno's demands of easy one-off Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals and extension of loan moratorium?

What happened to the loud and endless trumpeting of these demands supposedly to help the rakyat in this current time of urgent need?

Harapan and Anwar have been united and consistent with these demands throughout the budget process.

The final budget vote has shown that Muhyiddin doesn't have a simple majority of 112. This backdoor government is unstable and wobbly and is therefore not fit to govern.

We deserve a stable and strong government. It’s high time Harapan and Anwar work harder and smarter to reclaim the people's mandate, minus traitors like Mahathir and Shafie.

IndigoHamster4797: I disagree with you, @Capo, that Muhyiddin does not have simple majority. With two deaths amongst the MPs recently, the total number of MPs is 220, making 111 a simple majority.

I am as disappointed as many with the outcome. I see that the opposition need to be more deliberate, united and have a proper executable plan to win in the Dewan Rakyat. Not ad-hoc backroom negotiations.

Instead of sniping at the edges (Jasa RM85 million budget, etc), Harapan should have just taken Budget 2021’s RM322 billion as reference and propose a coherent alternative budget for the country.

Now, it’s back to the drawing board on how to win the 15th general election.

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