HAVING got its demands on Budget 2021 met, Umno will continue to pressure Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Perikatan Nasional (PN) said analysts.

They felt the Muhyiddin was not out of the woods yet, as he still has to prove his majority in the Dewan Rakyat, and last Thursday’s passing of Budget 2021 at the policy stage had not resolved anything for the ruling party.

They said the biggest winner of the budget battle, so far, appears to be Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former president Najib Razak, who had set conditions for their support which PN has given in to.

They also said PN will likely come under even more pressure from Umno although it has already conceded to part of the party’s demands and its lawmakers seem to be supporting the government for now.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia political science lecturer Mazlan Ali said he expected Umno to keep pressuring Muhyiddin because the Malay party wants Parliament dissolved.

“They will not accept Bersatu as an ally and they are just looking at what benefits they can get out of it, such as a government where Umno plays an important role.

“If Najib can give such conditions now, there will definitely be more in the future. There will be more pressure and more conditions for PN to meet,” he said.

While debating the budget two weeks ago, Najib said Barisan Nasional will not support the budget unless the blanket moratorium on bank loans is extended.

The former prime minister also said bulk withdrawals, instead of instalments, must be allowed from Account 1 of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF).

Putrajaya has met the demand on EPF’s Account 1, with contributors being allowed to withdraw up to RM10,000 from the account and made getting extension on loan moratoriums easier to those who wanted it.

Mazlan noted Muhyiddin was not out of the woods yet as he has not proven his majority support in Dewan Rakyat.

International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) assistant professor Law Zhe Wei also said the biggest winners of the issue are Zahid and Najib.

“They do not need to make their positions known. As long as there is no vote, Najib and Zahid are safe. This also causes a hard time for Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, and those aligned to him, as they need to make clear if they support the government,” Lau said, referring to the Gua Musang MP who had expressed unhappiness with the PN government and publicly stated parliamentarians should be allowed to vote on the budget based on their conscience.

He said, for example, Najib, as BN’s Backbencher’s Club chairman, has demanded the government allow a higher EPF withdrawal and this has already been conceded to. However, the government’s stance on the loan moratorium remains unclear, which gives Umno more room to manoeuvre.

“Najib would have had to explain his decision to support or reject the budget. But now, it’s none of his business.

“Now, whether the budget passes or not, it won’t be because of Najib because the opposition failed to call for a vote,” Lau said.

He then said the bigger losers are PKR and DAP MPs who are close to the grassroots as they have to explain to supporters and constituents why they did not vote.

For the opposition, Pakatan Harapan (PH), Lau said, when the sitting resumes tomorrow, it will be their greatest struggle as the demand for a loan moratorium extension is difficult to fulfil as a matter of principle.

“Other than the allocation for the Special Affairs Department (Jasa), they can’t really object to the spending bill for other ministries. They can’t attack the Health and Education ministries, which already take up a big chunk of the budget. So, which other special allocation can they object to and what can they get out of it?

“How are they going to fight this battle? Can PH count on all its MPs’ support? For this, we’ll have to see what their next strategy is,” Lau said.

Mazlan, however, cautions that defeating the budget will not mean victory for the opposition.

“If the budget was successfully rejected, will the political crisis in Dewan Rakyat be over? On the contrary, it will likely worsen. If the budget was indeed rejected, then does Anwar have the numbers? Parliament may instead be suspended,” he said.

Even if Budget 2021 was voted down, Mazlan said, the head of state has options, including appointing an interim prime minister, an interim government, or dissolving parliament straightaway, and these are things that MPs need to consider when they vote.

The Dewan Rakyat will sit again tomorrow and continue debating Budget 2021 at the committee stage, when allocations for the various ministries will be debated and changes introduced if any are sought by the opposition or backbenchers. – November 29, 2020.