Anwar: Some MPs still voted for Budget 2021 after govt’s false claims linking it to civil service’s wage

 

PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim speaks during a press conference in Petaling Jaya March 13, 2020. — Bernama pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed his disappointment today that Budget 2021 was still passed in its third vote, despite some MPs previously expressing strong views against certain parts of the Bill.

The Opposition Leader suggested that some MPs still voted for the Budget despite opposing the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, after the latter’s falsely claiming that not passing it will affect the civil service’s function and its members’ wages.

“Because the PN government has erroneously linked passage of the budget to the functioning of the civil service and payment of salaries, some MPs who oppose PN may have supported the budget to demonstrate their solidarity with millions of public servants who are equally impacted by the pandemic economy.

“It is disappointing that MPs who had expressed strong views against certain issues in the budget voted in support of the bill,” Anwar said in a statement issued hours after the budget was passed 111-108 in its third reading in the Dewan Rakyat.

The PKR president said the budget remains “fundamentally flawed” and “reflects the narrow interests of PN government’s own political survival” rather than the actual needs and welfare of the public.

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- malaymail