Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants the alleged five BN lawmakers who will vote down the Budget 2106 due to be tabled on Friday to ask themselves what action needs to be taken against them for doing so.

Zahid said this today when asked what action would be taken against the alleged five BN parliamentarians if they were to vote down the budget.

“Who are they?” he asked reporter who posed the question

When told that they included former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, Zahid said the question should instead be posed to them.

“You better ask them. You better ask them what action needs to be taken against them,” he said at a press conference at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur.

He also declined to share with the media how BN would ensure that this (voting down the budget by BN MPs) would not occur.

“I cannot tell you my strategy. If I tell you, it’s no longer (a) strategy,” Zahid said.

As a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is definitely out of the question during this parliamentary session, opposition MPs and 'BN rebels' alike have been urged to vote down the budget to 'damage' Najib.

'Let the old man talk'

Earlier during the press conference, Zahid dodged a question posed by the media on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement that Zahid was wrong to say that the Council of Rulers had violated the separation of powers doctrine by commenting on 1MDB.

“Ask about questions related to the General Police and Special Equipment Exhibition and Conference (GPEC) first,” Zahid then said when asked about the purported 'old man' whom he had claimed was planning to topple Najib.

“Which old man? (There are) so many old men around,” he said.

When it was also pointed out to him that he has also asked the 'old man' to repent, Zahid said: “Let him talk. Let him talk to activate his mind”.

Zahid in August said an 'old man from Umno' was behind the alleged plot to topple Prime Minister Najib.

However, he refused to reveal who this plotter was, saying it would hamper police investigations into the matter.