Voting down Budget 2016 will only hurt Malaysians, says PAS
(TMI) – Voting down Budget 2016 in the Dewan Rakyat will only hurt Malaysians, as it would lead to a “government shutdown” should the vote succeed, PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said.
In defending the party’s position to abstain from voting against the budget, Tuan Ibrahim said he did not believe Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would step down even if the budget was rejected by the majority of the Dewan Rakyat.
Instead, Malaysia would suffer a similar predicament to the United States’s 2013 government shutdown, with civil servants furloughed indefinitely or required to work without known payment dates, said Tuan Ibrahim.
“Believe me, Najib will not resign even if his budget is rejected,” said Tuan Ibrahim.
He added that PAS did not want to send the message that it opposed raising the salaries, bonuses and pensions of civil servants; the increased minimum wage, and the benefits in store for rubber tappers and Felda settlers as outlined in Budget 2016.
However, he said PAS would support a no-confidence vote against Najib as the latter would have no other choice but to step down should it succeed.
