Not decided yet if Zafrul or myself will be tabling budget, says PM

The decision as to whether Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob or Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz will be presenting the 2023 Budget to the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 7 has yet to be made.

Ismail Sabri, however, said that he is ready to consider tabling next year’s budget himself if it is allowed according to the constitution and legislation.

“It is necessary to check first whether the matter is allowed according to the constitution and legislation. If it is not possible, then (I) cannot present it. If it is possible, it can be considered,” he said again.

“In any case, we are waiting for the advice of the attorney-general. I can’t explain the situation myself as there is a conflict,” Ismail Sabri (above, right) told a press conference today.

On Aug 27, Perikatan Nasional chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin reportedly said that the prime minister may table Budget 2023.

This came a day after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said that the tabling of the Supply (Budget) Bill 2023 in the Dewan Rakyat had been brought forward to Oct 7.

‘No threat of sacking’

On a separate matter, Ismail Sabri said the Umno supreme council meeting last Saturday was held in a cordial atmosphere, and there were no issues or threats to his position.

He denied the suggestion that he was threatened with being sacked as Umno vice-president if he did not fulfil the party’s request to dissolve Parliament as soon as possible.

“Sometimes, what outsiders see is different from what is happening inside,” he said when asked whether he was pressured to give up his vice-president post.

He said differences of opinion are normal and should be celebrated.

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