PETALING JAYA: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim tonight said the passing of the 2021 federal budget by a narrow margin will do little to inspire confidence in the Perikatan Nasional government.
The PKR president said the budget, which he described as “fundamentally flawed”, reflected the narrow interests of the ruling government’s own political survival, rather than the actual needs and welfare of the people.
Anwar said the nation right now required a strategy to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic stronger and more vibrant.
But the government, he said, had “shown itself incapable of the task at hand”.
“The narrow passing of this bill in Parliament will do little to inspire confidence in the PN government. It will simply render it further susceptible to self-interests of these politicians at the expense of the rakyat,” the Port Dickson MP said in a statement.
Anwar went on to claim that the PN government would continue to use its political influence to preserve its power, often at the expense of the rakyat and the country’s future.
“We are returning to a period of time when the government disregards acceptable standards of transparency, governance and prudent management of funds.”
Earlier today, the 2021 budget was passed narrowly with 111 ayes, 108 nays and one abstention.
The budget was tabled on Nov 6 and is the biggest ever, with a record RM322.5 billion spending next year, up 2.5% from this year. It seeks to spur activity in an economy badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Anwar’s comments come minutes after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the budget had proven that decisions made by his government had taken into account the welfare, safety and wellbeing of the rakyat, on top of the country’s economic recovery.
Muhyiddin also said MPs who had backed the budget recognised the importance of implementing programmes to fight the pandemic and improve the lives of people, especially those from the B40 and M40 groups.