Warisan pilloried for absence during budget vote

 

Sabah PKR Youth information chief Razeef Rakimin is leading a chorus of disapproval after Parti Warisan Sabah's whip said its eight MPs sat out a budget vote on Monday to show their dissatisfaction with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Razeef said the decision was poorly timed and that Warisan should not punish the people because of some differences with their allies.

“You were voted by the people to represent them in the Dewan Rakyat so carry out your responsibility. I would like to remind Warisan to prioritise the people instead of the interests of certain individuals,” Razeef said.

He went on to say that he did not rule out the possibility that Warisan MPs had been directed by Dr Mahathir Mohamad to sabotage opposition efforts in retaliation for Mahathir’s failure to muster the support of 15 MPs to force a vote by division on the second reading of the Supply Bill last Thursday.

Razeef did not address the fact that three PKR MPs - Christina Liew (Tawau), Dr Lee Boon Chye (Gopeng) and Dr Michael Teo (Miri) - were missing from the vote as well. Liew is believed to be attending to a family emergency. Teo missed the first vote at 2.30pm because of flight issues while Lee had to leave after the first vote.

Yesterday Labuan MP and Warisan party whip Rozman Isli told Malaysiakini that he and his colleagues are in Kuala Lumpur but had decided to skip the voting sessions to “send a signal” to Pakatan Harapan.

He also said the party was frustrated with Anwar over the “last-minute instructions” to opposition MPs last week when a vote was taken on the federal budget at the policy stage.

“We are still in the opposition bloc but we want to send a signal to our opposition leadership that we don’t want to be pushed around and I don’t think they are doing the right strategy (or) the right moves,” Rozman was quoted as saying.

He added that Warisan representatives would continue to sit out the bloc votes for an unstipulated time frame.

The votes on the budget allocations for the Prime Minister’s Department and the Finance Ministry saw them passed at the committee stage.

The first vote was approved by 105-95 with 20 MPs absent while the latter was passed by a count of 107-95 with 18 absent.

Aside from Rozman, the other Warisan MPs who were absent were party president Shafie Apdal (Semporna), Darell Leiking (Penampang), Isnaraissah Munirah Fakharudy (Kota Belud), Azis Jamman (Sepanggar), Ma’mun Sulaiman (Kalabakan), Ahmad Hassan (Papar) and Mohamaddin Ketapi (Lahad Datu).

Other opposition MPs absent from both votes were Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (Tanjung), Christina Liew (Tawau), Masir Kujat (Sri Aman) and Awang Husaini Sahari (Putatan).

Opposition disunity

Amanah Youth chief Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin said the failure to attend the vote was very disappointing.

"Based on the two split vote results against the two bills, it is clear that the opposition MPs do not have an understanding and are not united. There were a handful of MPs who did not attend the voting session which led to the bill not being rejected," said Shazni who pointed out that Amanah's MPs voted against both bills.

He blasted the total allocation for the Prime Minister's Department worth RM11.69 billion.

"Of the RM11.69 billion, RM4.47 billion is for management expenditure and RM7.2 billion for development expenditure. Even though the country is facing a pandemic, the government chose to increase the department's expenditure without proper justification.

"The failure to reject this bill is also very disappointing when the people expect the opposition to review and provide a check and balance.

"It is important for all opposition MPs to work together first as well as set aside any sentiments that lead to division.

"Believe me, the people are evaluating every behaviour and arrogant actions of the people's representatives that they have sent to the Dewan Rakyat," he said.

Sabah PKR information chief Simsudin Sidek (below) also condemned the actions of the Warisan MPs.

"This shows Warisan wants revenge on the leader of the opposition after he instructed all opposition MPs not to reject Budget 2021 at the policy stage last Thursday.

"Anwar Ibrahim has given an explanation to all opposition MPs regarding his actions but Warisan still did not agree to attend this week's vote as a protest. 

"The party's leadership should be aware that now is not the right time to be political or show dissatisfaction as the opposition must work together to defend the people in a situation of an economic recession and the Covid-19 pandemic."

He called on Warisan to learn from their defeat at the Sabah state election.

"As the opposition, we must be united and not divided against each other because this attitude will be detrimental to the opposition itself," said Simsudin.- Mkini