Budget 2021 may end up being a confidence vote on Anwar

 

Weeks of speculation that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin would have problems passing Budget 2021 has so far come to naught with two more weeks of debates remaining.

Instead, the rakyat have trained their sights on opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who has publicly claimed twice that it was he who commanded the majority support of MPs to be prime minister.

As of today, there have been eight rounds of voting since the Dewan Rakyat reconvened on Nov 23 and the government has yet to even come close to defeat.

With Anwar setting high expectations for supporters, several analysts believe that should Budget 2021's passage be unimpeded, his reputation is at risk.

"If Anwar fails to block Budget 2021, he might lose support within Pakatan Harapan as their prime minister candidate," said Nuurrianti Jalli, an associate professor at the Northern State University in South Dakota, US.

Nuurrianti said Budget 2021 had outlined many measures needed to face the Covid-19 pandemic but Anwar does not appear to be able to provide a strong counter-narrative.

"Anwar doesn't have better proposals as a basis to reject Budget 2021. Some see Anwar as an empty vessel in Parliament which does not change policy positions on Budget 2021.

"Anwar's criticism is critical to ensure there is check and balance," she added.

The Port Dickson MP did not speak even once when Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz delivered his winding-up speech at the policy stage of the debate on Nov 26.

When it was time to vote, Anwar instructed the opposition not to seek a "division" vote - a process that would have had all of the MPs' votes recorded - allowing the supply bill to pass the policy stage.

The bill is currently at the committee stage and Anwar had eight opportunities to prove his majority at this point, but did not.

Gerakan Pengundi Sedar head of data and research Arif Anwar Lokmanol Hakim said if this continues, Anwar's ability to lead the opposition into the next general election would be in question.

"If Harapan coalition parties are questioning Anwar's leadership, it erodes the confidence of party members," he said.

So far, Harapan component parties DAP and Amanah have yet to officially criticise Anwar.

Eight MPs from Warisan, which is not a Harapan party, have decided not to participate in the committee stage of the Budget 2021 debate, further limiting the chances of defeating the budget. 

Warisan whip Rozman Isli told Malaysiakini that the party had decided to "send a signal" to Anwar that they disagreed with his strategy.

Pejuang leader and Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad had also implicitly criticised Anwar for failing to demand a vote during the policy stage on Nov 26.

 - Mkini