Budget 2016 passed, opposition last stand crumbles

Budget 2016 passed the committee stage with a voice vote today, securing Najib Abdul Razak's position as prime minister.

The opposition, which only had slightly more than 20 members in the House tonight, did not demand for a bloc vote.

This would have been their last chance to show that Najib did not command the support of the House by voting down the budget.

With two days of Parliament left, it is unlikely that opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's motion of no confidence, which is number 39 in the order paper, will be debated in the Dewan Rakyat.

That is, of course, if speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia bumps up the motion higher up on the order paper.

The opposition's previous effort to vote down the budget during the policy stage was defeated with 128 votes in favour and 74 votes against.

The opposition had argued that Malaysia would face financial doom if Najib is not booted out.

The opposition MPs cited the plummeting ringgit, and burgeoning public debt as well as 1MDB's financial woes as some of the reasons why Najib should go.

Najib, however, has refused to budge, saying he will not be toppled through “undemocratic” means.

Najib, who is also finance minister, tabled a RM267.2 billion budget for next year, themed "Prospering the People". -Mkini