THE National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) wants lawmakers to observe a political ceasefire and support any effective and efficient proposals in Budget 2021 in the interest of the people.

Its secretary-general J. Solomon said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s advice that Budget 2021 be passed required parties from both sides of the divide to work together.

“This royal advice requires MPs from both sides of the political divide to display bipartisanship in the interest of the rakyat, workers and businesses severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The people urgently need Budget 2021 to address their desolation and sense of despair as the third wave of the pandemic wreaks havoc on the economy and Malaysia continues to see a triple digit growth in positive cases,” he said in a statement today.

The budget will be tabled on November 6 .

“As such, we call on the government and opposition lawmakers to observe a ceasefire and instead give their unequivocal support for any effective and efficient proposals contained in Budget 2021, especially those which can remedy the woes of low-wage workers and SMEs,” he  said.

Solomon said NUBE believes bipartisan support for the budget is achievable and a realistic expectation as MPs have an obligation to fulfill the needs of the people.

“The union believes that the reinstatement of the blanket moratorium on borrowings for another six months could draw strong support from MPs on both sides of the political divide,” he said.

He said there is already ample support from both sides that the reinstatement of the blanket moratorium is urgently needed, especially for the B40 and M40 groups as well as SMEs, which continue to struggle to stay afloat amid worsening economic conditions.

The expiry of the moratorium at the end of September also coincided with the spike of Covid-19 cases as a third wave of infections pushed businesses and workers into further turmoil and wiped out any possibility of early economic recovery.

Solomon said the government’s decision to replace the blanket moratorium with a conditional targeted assistance scheme has many drawbacks and does not do enough to help the millions of marginalised workers, including daily-wage earners and SMEs.  

Another round of blanket moratorium will provide more than eight million workers and employers struggling with cash flow problems with much needed reprieve, he said

Apart from that, the banking sector can afford to delay collecting their loan repayments for a further six months as the banks have registered profits of about RM32 billion for 2019. 

“According to Bank Negara, the banks continue to be in good shape and resilient in facing the effects of the pandemic. Its shareholders, especially those owned by the government, should make sacrifices for the B40 and M40 groups. The shareholders are mainly the rich and those who can afford,” he said.

“As such, the government should not attempt to lessen the role of the banks in mitigating the hardships faced by the people and the business community. The government therefore must reinstate the blanket loan moratorium through Budget 2021,” he said.

He also said it is important to show bipartisanship in this matter, such as when MPs from both sides banded together during the tabling of the amendments to the federal constitution to enable the voting age to be lowered from 21 years to 18 years.

The Perikatan Nasional government will table its first spending plan on November 6. There are strong concerns that Budget 2021 may not get the support it needs from lawmakers for it to be passed in view of the recent political events.

A rejection of the budget could be treated as a sign of no-confidence against Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. – October 29, 2020.