EVERY MP should be given the freedom to vote according to his or her conscience in the coming Budget 2021 vote, said Umno vice president Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
According to Khaled, MPs deserve to state their view, even if it’s different from their party’s position.
“I believe that every MP should be given freedom and space to make choices and vote in person based on conscience in supporting, being neutral or rejecting the Budget 2021.
“If a MP is convinced that the provisions and initiatives within the Budget 2021 need to be improved or have not met the target group, then they deserve to state that, even if it differs from their party or bloc,” he said in a statement today.
Parliament is set for a Thursday vote on Budget 2021 and failure to secure the bill could spell the end of the Perikatan Nasional government.
Barisan Nasional has made support for the vote conditional on two demands: bulk withdrawal of savings from the Employees Provident Fund Account 1 and an extension of the loan moratorium.
Yesterday Pekan MP Najib Razak said BN has done all it can to intercede for the people and it is now up to the government to decide whether to meet its demands, after BN had exhausted all other avenues of negotiation.
“Whether it is to be done or not is now in the hands of the PN leadership and it is up to them,” the former prime minister said on Facebook yesterday
The former Johor menteri besar said that having a different viewpoint is not a betrayal and that decisions should be made for the betterment of the country.
“Every MP must make the decision that they feel is best for the country, not the interests of the party or bloc alone; especially in a situation where Umno is not part of PN.
“As the PN government was formed on the basis of the support of MPs instead of a formal, orderly and tidy partisan co-operation, then why the need to insist on voting en bloc?
“The en bloc support for a Parliamentary motion does not necessarily reflect the strength of the party.
“Instead, the party will be considered to have no diversity of ideas, diversity of stances and freedom to state a democratic stance,” he said.
Khaled said that despite the Budget 2021 having many advantages, it still requires re-adjustment to make it even better.
He hoped that MPs would use their good conscience to vote democratically for the benefit of the people and the country. – November 21, 2020.
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