PARLIAMENT | A PAS lawmaker delved into an ancient legend to criticise BN's conditional support for Budget 2021.
Responding to BN Backbenchers chief Najib Abdul Razak, Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PAS-Pasir Mas) (above) said it was odd for the former prime minister to impose conditions.
“I think placing conditions on the government, such as to allow (more) withdrawals from Account 1 of the EPF (Employees Provident Fund) and for an automatic moratorium extension is odd because there is no need to do so in this Budget 2021.
"This is like Puteri Gunung Ledang asking the Malacca sultan to build a (golden) bridge, find mosquito hearts and others, which were conditions to signal her rejection of his marriage proposal," Ahmad Fadhli added when debating the Supply Bill 2021 in the Dewan Rakyat today.
According to the legend, the princess gave the sultan seven impossible tasks in exchange for her hand in marriage. This included “a golden walkway from the mountain to Malacca” and “seven trays filled with the hearts of mosquitoes”.
During his 90-minute speech in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Najib (BN-Pekan) said BN's support would depend on whether the government agreed to a blanket loan moratorium extension for six months and a one-off withdrawal of up to RM10,000 from EPF.
Other BN MPs, including Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian), had also raised the issue of conditional support during his budget speech.
Prior to the tabling of Budget 2021, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz had met with representatives from various parties to listen to their demands.
This was part of the engagement process to seek bipartisan support to ensure the Budget 2021 Bill would be passed.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Fadhli welcomed the government's more targeted approach under Budget 2021, including on the loan moratorium and loan assistance.
He said this approach would avoid wastage, assist the banking sector and boost the domestic economy.
"Although many are in need of the moratorium, I am more convinced there are those who do not need it, based on government data," he added.
Ahmad Fadhli also proposed that the documentation process to be eligible for the moratorium be simplified to assist the targeted groups.
"Do not make it difficult with bureaucracy. This is my stand on the moratorium," he added.
In his budget speech last Friday, Tengku Zafrul announced that only a targeted group of some 600,000 EPF contributors would be allowed to withdraw up to RM500 a month for one year.
The six-month blanket loan moratorium that ended in September has been gradually replaced with a more targeted loan assistance approach, with further improvements announced under Budget 2021. - Mkini
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