BUDGET 2021 crossed its first hurdle at Dewan Rakyat yesterday, clearing the voice vote at the policy stage with 13 Members of Parliament (MPs) motioning for bloc voting, falling short of the minimum quorum of 15 MPs.
This is seen as a vote of confidence for the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin-led government especially after the Opposition and sections of the Muafakat Nasional coalition had threatened to veto the Budget in the weeks leading up to the vote unless amendments and enhancements were made.
Come Monday (Nov 30), Parliament will begin debates at the committee stage during which allocations for ministries and agencies will be scrutinised, and a final vote will take place by Dec 15.
As clarified by Essex-trained political scientist Wong Chin Huat, clearing the first hurdle does not guarantee ‘the survival’ of the expansionary Budget 2021 which at RM322.5 bil , has been dubbed “the mother of all budgets”.
The budget can still be defeated outright at the end of both the second reading (yesterday which it passed) and third reading (Dec 15) – as well as being defeated indirectly in countless opportunities at the committee stage between them.
“More interesting are the partial defeats that may happen in the committee stage,” he noted in a commentary published in the Malaysiakini portal.
“Starting from the Prime Minister’s Department, there are 30 ministries’ budget lines to be approved. Each needs approval by the House, which upon the request of 15 MPs, has to take the form of actual voting (called “division”).”
Nevertheless, it is crucial that the budget be approved for the country to avert a political crisis that could trigger a fresh general election, according to PublicInvest Research economist Dr Rosnani Rasul.
“This may be ideal under normal circumstances but could be a disaster given the current pandemic situation as experiences of the Sabah state election will show,” she opined. “It is also crucial to be excessive in helping the vulnerable groups given that they make up a significant portion of the society.”
Fiscal support for small medium enterprises (SMEs), for instance, is critical as SMEs contribute 38.3% of the country’s gross domestic product, 66% of the country’s employment, and around 17.3% of exports.
Therefore, another three-month of loan moratorium will, at the very least, help them ride out the COVID-19 storm, headwinds of which are expected to recede next year given the recent breakthrough in COVID-19 vaccine development.
“Though this will be the catalyst that could trigger a rebound in appetites for major asset class, a full global recovery could take about two years given the widespread nature of the current crisis,” added Rosnani. – Nov 27, 2020
