Anyone who rejects Budget 2021 is a traitor - Shahidan
(Editor's Note: An earlier copy of this article wrote that Shahidan Kassim had referred to Najib Abdul Razak in his traitor remarks. A check of the Parliament video and the Hansard has shown that this is incorrect. Malaysiakini apologises for the error.)
PARLIAMENT | Anyone who rejects Budget 2021 is a traitor, according to Perikatan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairperson Shahidan Kassim.
"Anyone who rejects the budget (in the Dewan Rakyat), including my friend the former health minister (Dzulkefly Ahmad) will be a traitor to the people because the people are waiting for the budget," Shahidan said in his budget debate...
(Editor's Note: An earlier copy of this article wrote that Shahidan Kassim had referred to Najib Abdul Razak in his traitor remarks. A check of the Parliament video and the Hansard has shown that this is incorrect. Malaysiakini apologises for the error.)
PARLIAMENT | Anyone who rejects Budget 2021 is a traitor, according to Perikatan Nasional (PN) Backbenchers Club chairperson Shahidan Kassim.
"Anyone who rejects the budget (in the Dewan Rakyat), including my friend the former health minister (Dzulkefly Ahmad) will be a traitor to the people because the people are waiting for the budget," Shahidan said in his budget debate yesterday.
Dzulkefly (Harapan-Kuala Selangor) had been trying to get permission from Shahidan to interject.
Malaysiakini yesterday erroneously reported that he mentioned former premier Najib Abdul Razak (BN-Pekan).
Shahidan said suspicion had been cast on whether Najib, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (BN-Bagan Datuk), and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (BN-Gua Musang) would be voting down the budget.
However, he firmly believed they would remain loyal to PN.
"Some have said that one or two (in PN) will not support the budget and this will cause the government to collapse... These are just suspicions and we are linking them to veteran politicians who were born before us.
"Pekan (MP Najib), Bagan Datuk (MP and BN chairperson Zahid) and Gua Musang (MP Tengku Razaleigh) had joined politics before we were born, but we made suspicions as though they were like that.
"Once they joined BN, they are BN. Once BN is with PN, we will stay with PN," he said.
The Arau MP added that there was no need to be suspicious of anyone voting against the budget, and that BN would give their full support for the supply bill.
“For me, I want to state my undivided support for the leadership of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and support for the budget," Shahidan declared.
Najib, who is also the BN backbencher chairperson said in his budget speech that BN would only support the budget if the government agreed to extend the loan moratorium and allow withdrawals of RM10,000 from the Employee's Provident Fund (EPF).
Annuar: Toe party line, or else
Meanwhile, Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa similarly issued a warning to party MPs who were thinking of voting against the Supply Bill.
This came after Tengku Razaleigh told The Malaysian Insight that lawmakers were elected to be accountable to their constituents and should not merely follow party orders when deciding on the budget.
The Umno advisory council chairperson also opined it was “undemocratic” to restrict MPs to a party line.
At a press conference this morning, Annuar dismissed the remarks as Tengku Razaleigh’s “personal view” and said those who voted against the party line risked electoral consequences.
“By convention, MPs are chosen by the party and we are responsible for supporting the party’s decision. We also use the party whip system where if the party makes a decision, the chief whip gives orders and we vote following the whip’s orders.
“If any party members act individually, we won’t need them when the election comes. The party will also make its own decisions if they do not follow the party (decisions).
“If we don’t want to abide by the party’s decisions, we need to be prepared to face certain consequences,” Annuar remarked.
Zahid previously said that all 43 BN MPs will pledge their support for Budget 2021.
The budget goes to a vote next Thursday (Nov 26) and it is largely seen as a litmus test of PN’s Dewan Rakyat majority.
According to Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution, any prime minister who loses the confidence of a majority of MPs must resign. Alternatively, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can dissolve Parliament, paving way for fresh elections.
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