Govt behind schedule, but Budget 2021 vote tomorrow still possible

 

The government is behind schedule in wrapping up the Budget 2021 policy stage debate.

However, it is still possible for the government to bring the Supply Bill to a vote tomorrow - with a minor time extension.

"Eat until you're full tomorrow, don't run," quipped M Karuppaiya (Harapan-Padang Serai) at the end of today's session.

There are, at present, no lunch breaks during this current Parliament sitting.

At the end of the Dewan Rakyat session today - which was extended till 3.12pm - the government was still three ministries behind schedule.

There are nine ministries left to wind up the debates - namely the ministries for Agriculture and Food Industries; Foreign Affairs; National Unity; Health; Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs; Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives; Tourism, Arts and Culture; Plantations and Commodities; and Finance.

In prior years, the government would take around 40 minutes or more to wind up each ministry.

However, they are now supposed to finish wrapping up within 20 minutes each. This is because the Parliament session has been shortened to 2pm during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Things began to go off schedule on Monday when the government ran out of time and couldn't wind up two scheduled ministries, and the situation snowballed from there.

Some ministries took more than the allotted 20 minutes to finish, partly due to debates and interjections from MPs.

Faced with a backlog, there are at least three possible options.

The first is to extend tomorrow's Parliament session beyond 2pm until all ministries have finished wrapping up and a vote is held.

De facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan (photo) told Sin Chew Daily that the vote will be held tomorrow, and Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Azalina Othman Said also said that this is the government's plan.

Malaysiakini estimates that with 10 ministries left, the government would need between three-and-a-half to four hours to finish wrapping up tomorrow.

Wrapping up will start at 11.20am tomorrow after Minister's Question Time and the oral questions session - meaning that a vote could be held by around 4.20pm.

Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly Ahmad, who is a former health minister, said extending tomorrow's session should not be a problem.

"I've always argued that we must not compromise the time allocated for debate for as many MPs to speak and for ministers to reply and take on further debates with MPs when they reply on the Budget 2021.

"We can't use the excuse of Covid-19 conveniently, as used earlier by some," he told Malaysiakini.

Dzulkefly added that efforts had been taken to mitigate the spread of the virus, such as bi-weekly RT-PCR tests for all MPs, periodical sanitisation, and reducing the number of MPs present in the Lower House.

All MPs will be allowed to be in the Dewan Rakyat for bloc votes.

Another option for the government is to shorten the amount of time each ministry is allotted to wrap up its debate. This may still require some time to be extended.

It will also likely trigger an uproar among opposition MPs who have been fighting for ministers to have more time to wrap up and answer additional queries.

Meanwhile, a third option is to postpone the budget vote to next week.

Singapore's The Straits Times cited government sources as saying this was a possibility.

Postponing the budget would also give the government more time to secure Umno's support.

Umno has been sending signals that it may consider withholding support for the budget unless the party's requests for an expanded EPF withdrawal scheme and automatic loan moratoriums for all B40 and M40 are taken up by the government.

Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (photo) has also been pushing lawmakers to vote independently on the budget.

He has been a proponent for a no-confidence motion to be heard against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

A vote on the budget has been deemed as a proxy for a vote of confidence.

The ruling Perikatan Nasional controls Parliament by just 112 votes against 108 from the opposition.

This number could drop to 111 if Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin, who is under quarantine, is not given an early release, like Keningau MP Jeffrey Kitingan.

It could drop even further to 110 if Tengku Razaleigh either abstains or votes against the budget - meaning just two more Umno MPs going rogue would be enough to defeat the budget.

The opposition, meanwhile, has reservations on the budget despite advise from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for all MPs to back the Supply Bill 2021.

If the budget comes to a vote tomorrow and survives, it is still not yet the end of the road.

Votes will be held during the committee stage of the bill's debate as well.

Usually, any effort to defeat the budget is only done during the policy stage, and the Supply Bill will pass through the committee stage with voice votes.

However, Pakatan Harapan had, in 2017, mounted a surprise ambush during the committee stage, and narrowly lost by just one vote. 

Opposition MPs had previously told Malaysiakini that in the event Budget 2021 is not passed, Article 102 of the Federal Constitution could be invoked to table a separate bill to authorise essential spendings.

Essential spendings could include civil servant emoluments and healthcare expenses needed to battle the Covid-19 pandemic. - Mkini