Thursday is about ousting Muhyiddin at all costs
And this is the biggest mistake Muhyiddin made. If he had instructed the Attorney-General to drop all criminal charges against Umno leaders, return Umno’s money that has been confiscated by the government, and appoint Umno MPs as, say, the Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Home Minister, etc., then they will not try to oust him by sabotaging Budget 2021.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Is Budget 2021 perfect? Can it be improved further? Should Budget 2021 be rejected by Parliament this Thursday?
Muslims believe that only Allah is perfect and anything manmade has to be flawed somewhat. If man is able to create something as perfect as what Allah can create, then man would become at par with God.
As I said, that is what Muslims believe.
And Chandra Muzaffar agreed that Budget 2021 “has its limitations, which is why the government should remain open to ideas and proposals from not only members of Parliament, whatever their political affiliation, but also citizens from all walks of life” in his opinion piece, “5 good reasons to adopt the 2021 Budget” (READ HERE).
So, Budget 2021 is not 100% perfect. It can (and should) be improved further. And Budget 2021 must be allowed to be debated, not only by the 222 members of parliament, but also by members of the public who may have good or better ideas on what should be done.
I suppose that is what is called democracy. Everyone has a say.
Ku Li will be boycotting Parliament on Thursday
But then, as Lokman Noor Adam said last night (and in his many videos every night before this), rejecting or sabotaging Budget 2021 is about ousting Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin who does not have even 90 MPs with him (and he needs at least 112 MPs to remain in office, explained Lokman).
In other words, they are opposing Budget 2021 not because it is a hopeless budget (even though there may be areas for improvement) but so that the vote against Budget 2021 can be turned into a backdoor vote of no confidence against Muhyiddin.
So, oppose Budget 2021 by all means if that is what you wish — because in a democracy you even have the right to oppose God (which is what most Muslims do not seem to understand even though they scream “democracy” all day long). But just make sure you are very clear about the reason or reasons why you oppose Budget 2021.
And the reason is so that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and the Perikatan Nasional government can be brought down.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said so in his announcement that he will be boycotting Parliament on Thursday. Ku Li said the legitimacy of Muhyiddin and the Perikatan government has not been established yet — and since there are doubts as to the legitimacy of the Prime Minister and his government, Ku Li will not be attending Parliament on Thursday to vote on Budget 2021.
In short, Ku Li is voting against Budget 2021. And Lokman says the opening of this floodgate by Ku Li may prompt many other Umno or BN MPs to also vote against Budget 2021 or to boycott Parliament on Thursday.
If Muhyiddin Yassin is an illegitimate Prime Minister and the Perikatan Nasional government an illegal government, then Ku Li should not boycott Parliament only on Thursday and/or vote against Budget 2021. As they say in the legal fraternity, the fruits of a poisonous tree are poisonous.
In other words, the illegality of the Prime Minister and his government does not just affect Thursday’s sitting of Parliament or the vote on Budget 2021, it affects Parliament as a whole. In short, Ku Li and those who regard Parliament as illegal and unlawful need to boycott Parliament from the first day it sat.
If you attend the opening of Parliament and the address by Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, that means you are declaring that Parliament is legal and lawful. If it is illegal and unlawful, you do not even attend the first day or the opening session of Parliament.
You cannot regard just one day, Thursday, as illegal and unlawful, and all other days as legal and lawful.
You need to make up your mind. Is Muhyiddin Yassin an illegitimate Prime Minister and is the Perikatan Nasional government an illegal government, and hence the current Parliament session and Budget 2021 illegitimate as well?
Lokman says Muhyiddin and PPBM need to be punished for treating Umno as an anak tiri
It is either haram or halal. It cannot be halal every day except for just one day, this Thursday. And if it is haram, then you distance yourself from it every single day, not just for one day.
Lokman’s argument is that Muhyiddin Yassin and his Perikatan Nasional government are arrogant and treat Umno as an anak tiri. Hence, this Thursday, Umno needs to take revenge and punish Muhyiddin and his PPBM by sabotaging Budget 2021.
In other words, sabotaging Budget 2021 is payback for not dropping the court cases against the Umno leaders — cases which Lokman regard as selective prosecution and political persecution — and also for not giving Umno leaders good positions in the government.
And this is the biggest mistake Muhyiddin made. If he had instructed the Attorney-General to drop all criminal charges against Umno leaders, return Umno’s money that has been confiscated by the government, and appoint Umno MPs as, say, the Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Home Minister, etc., then they will not try to oust him by sabotaging Budget 2021.
That, in essence, is what they are saying.
