Syed Saddiq hopes Budget amendments will not be just cosmetics

KUALA LUMPUR: Member of Parliament (MP) for Muar Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has been informed that several amendments will be made to the 2021 Budget presented by the Finance Minister on November 6.

Therefore, he hopes that the amendments will not be just cosmetic changes but really guarantee help for the vulnerable, as well as considering suggestions from the opposition.

"I am not waving the white flag yet. We are still in dialogue and discussions with government leaders.

"I have been in touch with the Prime Minister and senior ministers.

"I have been informed that there will be amendments to be made to the first version of the Budget tabled earlier," said the former Minister of Youth and Sports through the Awani PAGI program on Tuesday.

"I hope it is not just a cosmetic change. There needs to be an amendment from the view of extending the moratorium,” he said.

At the same time, Batu Kawan Member of Parliament Kasthuri Patto who participated in the interview, shared the view that the government needs to listen to the views of the opposition.

"I do not have confidence in this Budget and I think the more important issue is the mechanism to distribute this allocation," Kasthuri said.

On the question of political stability, Syed Saddiq urged the government to find a middle way to reach an agreement and maturity to pass the 2021 Budget by getting support of the majority.

"To achieve political stability, there must be political maturity - that is, for the government and the opposition to sit at the same table.

"If the Prime Minister is really serious and has the political will and wants to find a midpoint to move forward together, I think he will agree not with all but at least with the suggestions put forward," added Syed Saddiq.

With only two days left before the 2021 Budget vote, some MPs have raised the need for the government to reach an agreement with the opposition.

Veteran UMNO MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had previously revealed a letter to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun that he would not be present to debate the Budget as long as the legitimacy of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government was not proven in Parliament by a motion of no-confidence.

Following that, MP for Subang Wong Chen proposed that a written agreement be made by the government to get the approval of Budget 2021 provided that the no-confidence motion is debated after that.

A total of 25 motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was listed in the Third Session of the Third Term of the 14th Parliament.