Use budget vote to trade for needed democratic reforms

 

MP SPEAKS | Some of my constituents are asking should the opposition support the budget? The answer is both a yes, and a no.

To contain the Covid-19 pandemic situation, we have a duty to ensure that the civil service has all the financial resources it needs for 2021. But should this budget vote supported by the opposition, be used to prop up this ineffective cabinet, to enable them to continue to govern us through the Covid-19 pandemic? After the Sabah election fiasco and the “Emergency Move”, the answer to that is a clear no.

In this posting, I will contextualise the issues regarding the budget vote and make some suggestions on how to move forward on the matter. I would suggest that the Pakatan Harapan leadership consider using the budget vote to trade for much needed democratic reforms.

First, let us look at the political context. Not less than three days ago, the same prime minister had attempted to shackle Parliament with the Emergency Move. Fortunately, the rulers in their collective wisdom rejected the move and saved democracy.

So isn’t it just a little bit bonkers to rush to offer a budget vote olive branch to the same prime minister immediately after his failed Emergency Move? People are rightly confused by these knee jerk reactions of politicians.

Moreover, yesterday, Umno has chosen to continue to support the prime minister, therefore restoring Perikatan Nasional’s slim majority to pass the budget. If Umno is true to their words, PN no longer needs opposition votes for the budget.

But then, Malaysian politics is full of surprises and deceits. Maybe Umno will retract their support next week? Maybe there are many wolves in sheep’s clothing on the opposition side too?

The fact of the matter is the prime minister’s tenure is extremely weakened after the royal rebuke, and those who are rushing to support him are finally showing their true cards. People are watching with disbelief and confusion.

Now let’s move to the legal and constitutional context of the budget vote.

Parliamentary convention demands that if a government is defeated in a money bill, it has no choice but to resign. The budget vote is the mother of all money bills. If the prime minister loses this vote, he has to resign, and his government will collapse.

According to the current Speaker (most of us disagree with his legal interpretation), a no-confidence vote can only happen in Parliament with the support of the law minister from the government! The chance of it snowing in KL is higher than getting the support of the law minister to topple his own government.

So the budget vote then becomes the one and only silver bullet the opposition has to test the legitimacy of government. Therefore, we can’t simply surrender this silver bullet to the prime minister for free. Instead, we must consider using this as an all-important bargaining chip to obtain some much-needed reforms to save democracy.

Now, let us consider the issue of timing. Is there sufficient time to negotiate? The budget will only be tabled on Nov 6, and the very first policy stage vote on the budget will only take place on Nov 23.

Subsequently, committee votes will take place for each and every ministry until Dec 10. So there is ample time of more than one month, for us to make demands and for the prime minister to fulfil these demands, before the final budget vote on Dec 10.

Lastly, what are the reforms that we should bargain for?

On the very top of my list of democratic reforms is to give an unfettered right to the opposition to table a vote of a no-confidence motion in Parliament.

I am sure most reform-minded Umno MPs, like Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, will be most supportive of such a demand. This reform will allow Parliament to check the legitimacy of the prime minister and to prevent a dictatorship.

Second is a signed undertaking by the cabinet to pass the Parliamentary Services Act in the March 2021 session to make Parliament financially and administratively independent from executive control.

There are hundreds of things that need reform, but I urge the Harapan leadership to start negotiating with these two basic democratic terms.

Bottom line, can we continue to trust this hapless cabinet to continue to manage the Covid-19 pandemic?

Using words such as “reconciliation”, “engagement”, “depoliticise”, means nothing if the government is not sincere about democratic reforms. And after the failed Emergency Move, the agenda for democratic reforms becomes even more urgent than ever.

As an opening gambit to demonstrate sincerity on the part of the government, I urge the cabinet to present a full budget briefing to all opposition MPs on Nov 2 when Parliament resumes.

After that, let the budget vote for reform negotiations start, for the sake of the people, democracy and the nation.

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WONG CHEN is Subang MP. - Mkini

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.