The opposition and ‘BN rebels’ alike have been urged to vote down the government’s budget which will be tabled by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak come Friday.

Political analyst Wong Chin Huat said should the government lose at any vote count, this would construe to a loss of supply, which is the equivalent to a vote of no-confidence.

“The moment the government loses support for the budget, it is equivalent to a vote of no confidence, therefore the government must go,” he told Malaysiakini .

Therefore the real battle, he said, would be the government’s budget since a no-confidence vote in technical terms would be close to impossible.

Wong, who is also a fellow at the Penang Institute, pointed out that Najib would have a chance at surviving the vote of no-confidence and would therefore silence his critics.

This becomes very relevant after Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia today said that the motion should have been submitted 14 days before the current parliamentary sitting commenced.

Therefore, Opposition Leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s no-confidence motion against the premier can only be tabled at the next parliamentary session.

As a solution to this, Wong proposed that opposition MPs ensure that they come out in full force to vote against the budget.

‘Give excuses’

As for 'rebel' BN lawmakers, the political scientist said they should avoid turning up.

“If they don’t turn up, then they won’t be breaking ranks as opposed to voting against the budget directly.

“They could give all kinds of excuses like suffering from headaches, chest pains, haze.

“The point is, no one is going to believe that all of these BN parliamentarians were truly sick. People are going to say that, for example, 44 BN lawmakers are rebels,” he said.

As a result, pressure on Najib will only increase, said Wong.

And the premier can punish the absent MPs, but doing so will only prove that he has been weakened.

‘’Lamer than the lame duck’

“Is he, for example, going to sack Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah if he doesn’t turn up?

“And some will also be prepared to be sacked as this would turn them into heroes.

“So this is how Najib is going to be damaged,” said Wong.

He, however, believes that Najib will survive this round of tests against his leadership.

“But his authority will be damaged. This is going to hurt him very badly, because he will be humiliated even though he survives.

“Even if the budget is passed, people will start saying that he’s being backed by less than half of BN parliamentarians, for example.

“So Najib will be lamer than the lame duck he is now.”