"Opposing" The Budget Was Just A Main Wayang. DAP, Amanah, Anwar Supporters Were Taken For A Ride.

 

Folks, I said it many times there is no political crisis in the country. The Budget has been passed. 

And here is something else I am saying : you the supporters of your various opposition parties are getting shafted by your heroes.

AND IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE FOR YOU. ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN.

First the news.

DAP parliamentary leader Anthony Loke has apologised openly to unhappy party members and supporters who felt let down by DAP for failing to oppose Budget 2021 during the policy stage in the Dewan Rakyat.

In a statement last night, Loke took responsibility for not issuing an instruction to DAP lawmakers to push for bloc voting, which resulted in the budget being passed with a voice vote, while the bloc gambit failed to get the necessary support to proceed...

OSTB : Really?  Something as important as the Budget and you forgot to issue instructions for bloc voting?  This is not what Malaysia Now reported yesterday. Do read on.  

Here is a DAP Youth member saying Anwar Ibrahim should publicly apologise for not blocking the Budget 2021 and that DAP may pull out from Pakatan Harapan.  

A DAP Youth leader has demanded a public apology from opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim for his misjudgement in not opposing the Budget 2021 during the policy stage in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Failing so, DAP Youth secretary Teh Hoong Keat said his party would consider severing its ties with PKR and disbanding Pakatan Harapan.

OSTB :  Dont waste the peoples' time. Dont take your supporters for a ride. No such things are going to happen. Brader Anwar will not apologise and DAP will NOT be pulling out of Pakatan Harapan. Everything sudah kau tim.

Here is more news :

  

Malay Mail - Anwar asks for one more week or else he will step down as Opposition (leader) and PH chief,” said a source privy to the meeting 

OSTB : Wow ?  Brader Anwar will resign? Your source must be a mental retard. No such thing will happen.  Brader Anwar has been trying to become PM since 1993, he spent about 10 years in jail. You seriously think he will quit over this Budget thingy? 

• DAP, Parti Amanah Negara, have conditionally agreed 
• warned Anwar he has little margin of error to take over Putrajaya.
• “They are giving Anwar the last chance,” said the source

OSTB : Your source has been smoking something.

Yesterday, Anwar acknowledged that both DAP and Amanah had wanted to force a division of the House during Thursday’s voting on Budget 2021, and that he had invoked his position as Opposition leader to get them to stand down.

PN's Budget 2021 sailed past 

just 13 Opposition lawmakers stood to try and force bloc voting

• extending loan moratorium 
• allowing 8m EPF contributors to withdraw RM10,000 

PH under heavy criticism from supporters for failure to reject Budget 2021 

OSTB :  So all that noise was just main wayang.  When it came for the vote Brader Anwar asked the MPs to stand down. And Budget 2021 passed.  

Here is Malaysia Now from 26th November 2020 - the day of the Budget itself :

• last-minute instruction by Anwar to PH saw PKR, DAP sitting out bloc vote 
• 2021 budget easily passed by voice vote

Anwar’s instruction due to Najib backing out of his threat to scuttle budget
Anwar later told reporters decision not due to lack of numbers on his side

• During budget debate Najib echoed Anwar 
• saying his vote would be contingent on amendments to budget

Speaker Azhar urged MPs who wanted bloc vote to stand up
Only 13 did so, 2 short of minimum 15 needed for bloc vote 

• Amanah pres Mat Sabu, deputy pres Salahuddin Ayub did not stand 
• Abu Bakar Mohd Rashid claimed Mat Sabu stopped by Lim Guan Eng
• Lim pulled his hand, and he sat down. 
• When Salahuddin saw this, he too decided not to stand up
• Abu Bakar told MalaysiaNow in remarks which he also shared on his Facebook

Anger within PH

• PH supporters angry over opposition bigwigs’ refusal to call for bloc vote
• explanation is in order. We owe people this,” Syahredzan, aide to Lim Kit Siang
• “I don’t why it happened. Sorry, friends,” he added.

“Dont waste your time explaining cos I’m not going to waste mine reading” said an opposition supporter in response. “The opposition can’t even get 15 fellas to stand. What more can the rakyat hope for?”

My comments :

Note :  Dont get me wrong ok. I never really opposed the Budget to the extent of wanting to stop the Budget. No such thing.  I dont like that RM1.4b for JAKIM or that RM85m for JASA. I already blogged about this. I dont like the Government borrowing money. The Budget must be "properly" spent.

So folks, especially Pakatan Harapan supporters, ever since Nov 26th 2020 there has been a strange sound that can be heard all over Malaysia.  Listen carefully. Can you hear that strange sound? It is the sound of you being liwatted. That is what has happened. You have been royally buggered by your heroes.

• PM12 (12 means 12 years jail) did not oppose the Budget. 
• Mat Maslan IQ 3.85 did not oppose the Budget.
• Mat Sabu, Salahuddin Ayub of Amanah did not oppose the Budget.
• Lim Guan Eng and his DAP MPs did not oppose the Budget.
• Brader Anwar and gang did not oppose the Budget.

Only 13 out of 222 MPs stood up to Oppose the Budget.

So all that talk about overthrowing the government by NOT voting for the Budget was just hot air.  They already knew that they were NOT going to oppose the Budget.

It was all just a wayang. And now according to the Malay Mail :

Malay Mail - "Anwar asks for one more week or else he will step down as Opposition (leader) and PH chief,” said a source privy to the meeting"

The guy has been gunning for the PM's job since 1993. Does anyone seriously think that he will step down as PH chief over a Budget vote? 

The deal was already done when Saifuddin Nasution (PKR), Lim Guan Eng and Mat Sabu had that pre-Budget meeting with Zafrul the Finance Minister. 

• KL (Nov 1): PH 6 key recommendations for Unity Budget 2021
• during coalition’s meeting with Finance Minister 
• statement signed by Mohamad Sabu, Lim Guan Eng, Saifuddin Nasution
• 1. Increase Health Ministry resources for Covid-19 
• 2. Expand social safety net, monthly welfare aid RM1,000 until end Covid-19 crisis 
• 3. Extend loan moratorium until March 31, 2021
• 4. Extend wage subsidy until March 31, 2021, create 600,000 jobs 
• 5. Increase education spending 
• 6. National Fiberisation Connectivity and water infrastructure 

So the PH statement around Nov 1st 2020 already called it a 'Unity Budget'. So what was there to oppose?

But the bigger question is what else was agreed between the PH and the Minister of Finance? Because they said that they discussed a plethora of issues. Only SIX were included in their Press Statement. There was more than that.

And folks that RM10,000 EPF withdrawal and the extension of the Loan Moratorium ARE NOT BUDGET ITEMS. 

EPF money is your money. It is NOT a Budgetary item (part of government's fiscal spending).

Extending the Loan Moratorium is NOT a Budget item. It is NOT part of the government's fiscal spending. 

So you have all been snookered into believing that somehow you are getting MORE money from the government (taxpayers' money). NO SUCH THING.

The Budget 2021 allocation of RM322 BILLION does not change.

The meeting between the PH leaders and the Finance Minister on Nov 1st 2020 DID NOT increase or decrease the RM322 Billion Budget by one sen. 

They did not negotiate say a 10% cut in the overall Budget from RM322 BILLION down to RM 290 BILLION or something like that. No such thing happened.

They did not negotiate say a 5% reduction in the budget for the Ministry of Defense. Or increase the allocation for Education by RM10 BILLION. 

NO SUCH THING HAPPENED.

So what were they so happy about? 

I believe they all got something else which they are not telling us. That is why they did not stand up and object to the Budget on Nov 26th.

But here is what is really happening in the country.  No one is going to be able to command a strong enough majority in Parliament.

UMNO with their Ketuanan Melayu and Dasar Ekonomi Baru have lost 14th elections.
PAS with their hudud and RUUs have won only 18 seats in Parliament.
PKR with their Reformasi have about 38 seats left in Parliament.
Pribumi Bersatu with their Malay and pribumi tune cannot form a majority.  
DAP with their Malaysian Malaysia and meritocracy have secured 42 seats only.

Thats it. These are the life struggles or falsafah hidup of all these political parties.  For the past 60 years, 50 years, 23 years etc. It is NOT going to take them any higher.

If they DO NOT CHANGE their political platforms, if they do not think outside the box and present new platforms to the voting public, they will not be able to form a secure government. 

And looking at the situation now, none of these parties and coalitions are going to offer anything better. 

UMNO will sing the Melayu song. Pas will dance to the hudud / RUU tune. PKR will shout reformasi. The DAP will keep harping on Malaysian Malaysia bla bla.

But looking at the wheeling and dealing that is going on, it appears that all their platforms are for one purpose only - to get your votes.

• Their political platforms or political philosophies just seem like fishing nets to catch the votes. 
• The end game is not their political philosophies. 
• The end game is not the welfare of the people.

The end game seems to be themselves. 
Their hold on power, their access, their perks and benefits. 
Their walking the corridors of power. 

• That is why after they negotiated with Zafrul on Nov 1st they called it the "Unity Budget 2021".
• That is why their negotiations did not decrease or increase the Budget by even one sen.
• That is why they did not object to the Budget on Nov 26. 
• Its a done deal.

And with weak coalitions (on both the government side and the opposition side) wheeling and dealing and cutting deals for their self preservation seems to precede the interests of you and me.

• That RM10,000 EPF withdrawals is NOT part of fiscal policy. It is NOT part of the Budget. It is our money.
• The extension of the loan moratorium is NOT part of fiscal policy. It is NOT part of the Budget. It is between banks and borrowers.

So they did not deliver anything new. They made a big hue and cry over nothing.  

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect that of MMKtT.