Budget vote shows Pakatan doesn’t care
Wan Azizah missed the point when she spoke of the futility of a bloc vote.
Karamjit Gill, Free Malaysia Today
There were about 20 Opposition members in Parliament when Budget 2016 got approved. Where were the rest? True, even if all had attended and voted against it, support from BN MPs would have been enough to get it passed. However, that is not the point. The point is that the opposition has shown a lack of commitment to its cause.
The Opposition claims that Prime Minister Najib Razak is losing support from BN, but the evidence shows otherwise. Instead, it is the Opposition that is looking a team with so many cracks that a break is imminent.
When we hit the streets for the Bersih rally, we knew nothing would change immediately. But our numbers sent out a strong message to everyone.
At the very least, Opposition members could have come out in full force to show us they were united in fighting the government. Opposition Leader Wan Azizah Ismail said they did not pursue a bloc vote against the budget because it would have been a futile exercise. She said they did not discuss it because they would have had to mobilise MPs.
You know what is futile, Wan Azizah? Depending on you is futile. What is the problem with mobilising MPs? You expect the rakyat to mobilise for your rallies and talks, but you cannot mobilise your MPs to show us how committed you are.
I also fail to understand the logic behind abstaining from voting. If I dislike BN but at the same time do not see quality in the Opposition, should I abstain from voting in the general election? What will the consequences be if all citizens who do not support either party stay away from polls? The Opposition pleads with all of us to come out and vote, but its members abstain when it is their turn to vote in state assemblies. Why should I vote for people like that?
