Anwar joins chorus calling for no-confidence vote over Fitch downgrade

 

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has called for a vote of confidence to be tabled against the government, citing concerns that ongoing uncertainties could lead to further negative impacts on the nation's economy.

Anwar, who earlier chaired a Harapan presidential council meeting held in the Parliament building, said a confidence motion was necessary in view of reports that Fitch Ratings had downgraded Malaysia's sovereign credit ratings.

"The government must seriously allow this.

"And the speaker must have the courage to respect parliamentary procedures and demands," said the Port Dickson MP.

In a joint statement, Anwar, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng reiterated that the downgrade from AAA- to BBB+ ratings is a slap to the government, particularly the Finance Ministry and Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

"It exposes failures in policy planning and governance, a result of ongoing political instability since the change of government in March," they said.

After halting an expected attempt to vote down the Supply (Budget) Bill before it was tabled at the current committee stage, Anwar had said Harapan would attempt to vote against each individual ministry allocations.

There will be 27 rounds of voting over 10 days, and the government had successfully passed all 14 allocations tabled so far. - Mkini