52-51 vote shock exposes BN’s vulnerability to rising cost of living
What last night’s drama in Parliament shows is that the unexpected, even the unimaginable, can occur when we least expect it, observes Anil Netto.
Aliran
The BN-led government’s razor-thin 52-51 winning margin in a vote called by the opposition to protest at the rising cost of petrol of goods has sent a ripple of excitement down the nation.
The vote strikes at the core of the unhappiness felt on the ground by many in recent years: the soaring cost of living.
The vote was called by a PKR MP during the committee stage debate for the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry’s portion of Budget 2018.
The BN was clearly taken off guard and MPs had to scramble in after the bell was rung to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. With the help of latecomers and the deputy speaker who voted for the ruling coalition, the BN scraped through under highly controversial circumstances.
What was interesting is that half a dozen Pas MPs reportedly sided with the opposition MPs against the bill while two other Pas MPs abstained. That is more than half of the party’s 14 MPs.
This suggests that the BN cannot take for granted the support of Pas MPs in the house, notwithstanding Umno’s ‘friendly’ relations with the Pas top leadership.
Meanwhile, the absent Pakatan MPs must be kicking themselves for missing a gilt-edged opportunity to upset the BN apple-cart.
The vote in Parliament tonight comes on the heels of the announcement that Malaysia recorded a strong 6.2% GDP growth in the third quarter of 2017, compared to 4.3% for the same quarter last year. This was supposedly underpinned by strong private consumption growth of 7.2%.
Unfortunately, the feel-good factor that one would expect from 6.2% growth has not filtered down to many of the rakyat.
