Siambun
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah members of parliament will not apologise for abstaining from voting in the budget in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
Warisan treasurer-general Terrence Siambun said it was pointless to debate further on the 27 supply bills at the committee stage when Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders themselves had already agreed to allow the budget to pass on Nov 26.
He was responding to the statement of Johor DAP chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau that Warisan MPs owed Malaysians and Sabahans a “huge” apology for their deliberate absence.
Dr Boo said Warisan had the opportunity to make their stands known on the Budget 2021 Supply Bill that was deemed disadvantageous to Sabah, but instead chose to abstain at the expense of Sabahan and Malaysian taxpayers coffer.
Warisan whip Datuk Rozman Isli said their absence was to send a signal to Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his PH coalition that a new leadership is desired.
Siambun added in a statement yesterday that Boo should instead pose the question to Anwar as to why he failed to perform his fiduciary duty to object to the budget last week.
“What is the point of going through the committee stage debate anymore if the policies in the budget, which were deemed as disadvantageous to Sabahans by Boo, had been approved by Anwar in the first place?
“So if Anwar has solid and convincing support from the government MPs, he does not need the eight Warisan MPs to defeat any of the 27 supply bills at the committee stage,” he said.
Meanwhile, Siambun said it was high time for politicians from Sabah to strive for the unity of the nation for the sake of economic prosperity and not allow themselves to be used politically for the personal interests of others.
He said prior to the tabling of the budget, it was widely politicised that the budget was not a means to help Malaysians but as a test of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s leadership and Anwar’s opportunity to seize power by defeating the budget.
“So the gist of (Labuan MP and Warisan whip) Rozman Isli’s contention is that after Anwar’s blunder on Nov 26, it doesn’t make sense at all for the Warisan MPs to allow the party to be used just because we are sitting in the opposition block together with PH,” he said.
He added that this was regardless of whatever tactical strategy Anwar may now have in his mind for the committee stage debate.
“We have seen how Sabahan Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional political leaders are pressured by their Malayan political leaders just to ensure that the latter will maintain power at the federal level.
“And it seems to me that Boo has this same mindset too. He is pressuring the eight Warisan MPs into submission by using Sabah and the role of elected representatives as points in his argument,” Siambun said.
He also reminded Boo that Warisan had fought against BN and Umno in the past and won because “we held our heads high”.
“I don’t think we are ready to submit to Anwar who is the opposition chief at this moment,” he said.
He added that it was rather simplistic for Boo to conclude that the Warisan MPs failed to protect Sabah’s interests as elected representatives.
“Almost all of the Warisan MPs gave their input on the budget tabled by the finance minister by speaking up in the Dewan Rakyat, and this was aired live.
“Numerous inputs had been given, such as on the state of infrastructure, health, education, economy, Covid-19, employment, and so on. They also attended their respective question and answer sessions with the ministers.
“So how could Boo ask Warisan MPs to apologise to Sabahans just because they do not want to deliver the numbers at the committee stage that Anwar needed?”
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