Dr Mahathir, Pejuang reserve support for Budget 2021

The former prime minister said he hoped the wise suggestions raised during the debate on the Supply Bill 2021 were considered in the budget.

“I, and my party ((Pejuang), reserve our support for the 2021 Budget by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government,” he said when debating the bill in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Prior to this, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (BN-Pekan) had voiced Barisan Nasional’s (BN) conditional support for the 2021 Budget, while Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Budget 2021 will only be supported if it really is a budget to help the people cope with COVID-19 and to curb the spread of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, at a media conference held later, Dr Mahathir, when asked whether he was voicing conditional support for the budget, said: “It should be, there have to be conditions, (but) I do not set the conditions, I want to hear suggestions”.

Dr Mahathir, when debating the bill, said the 2021 Budget should not amount to RM322.5 billion, with the allocation, which included for the development of offices of various ministries could be shelved, but to increase the allocation for the fight against COVID-19.

He said the salary of the ministers should also be reduced by at least 10 per cent to help the government deal with COVID-19.

“I admit we have been handling the COVID-19 attack well. Congratulations to the Director General of Health Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, I do not think he is afraid of death, but, there are countries that are more successful than us, there are new technologies that have been introduced, we need to learn from those who succeed,” he said.

The Langkawi Member of Parliament also suggested that the COVID-19 test be held more frequently so that only those infected with the virus are quarantined.

“When healthy people are in quarantine, including during lockdowns, the outflow, productivity cannot contribute to the economy. The country's economy will decline. Indeed, there are more healthy people in quarantine than those who are infected,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said the policy on Shared Prosperity Policy should be continued to reduce the economic gap between urban and rural areas as rural poverty becomes worse due to COVID-19.

“We all want to support the budget. If it is not passed, normally, the Prime Minister will have to resign. There will also be a political crisis,” he added.