THE opposition did not call for division voting due to the Agong’s advice and the surprise announcements from Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, said Lim Kit Siang.

“I was completely in the dark about the last-minute decision by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim not to call for a division although I could surmise the reasons, among which are firstly, the advice by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to MPs to support the Budget 2021 and secondly, Tengku Zafrul’s winding-up speech where he announced extra goodies,” the veteran DAP leader said in a statement today.

The “surprise” still has to be tested in the committee stage before the third reading of the budget on December 15.

Lim, who is the Iskandar Puteri MP, said it was also obvious that there were not enough numbers to defeat Budget 2021 as Umno MPs backtracked to give it full support.

“But this had never been a factor by DAP and Pakatan Harapan MPs in deciding on whether to call for division for individual voting in Parliament.

“As the Agong has urged MPs to support the budget in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is even more incumbent on opposition MPs to give the finance minister more time until the third reading of the Supply Bill on December 15 to make the necessary amendments and adjustments.”

On a separate note, Lim said MPs need more time to debate before the Supply Bill goes for the final approval during the committee stage.

“As a result of Covid-19, for 19 days of the November/December meeting, Parliament has been meeting from 10am to 2pm, which is a serious reduction of the daily parliamentary sitting from the usual six hours a day to four a day.

“This has seriously hampered the role of MPs to hold the government to account and scrutiny, and threatened the smooth and successful functioning of the constitutional doctrine of the separation of powers among the executive, legislature and the judiciary.

“For the next 12 sittings from November 30 to December 17, Parliament should revert to six-hour daily sitting – from 10am to 1pm, with recess from 1pm to 3pm when the chamber should be fully sanitised in view of Covid-19 and resumption of the evening meeting from 3pm to 6pm.” – November 27, 2020.