A budget or a dissolution?
MALAYSIANS wait with bated breath for the outcome of this evening’s audience between the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
(The Vibes) – The prime minister will be meeting the king at about 4pm and it is only logical that the king and Ismail Sabri will be discussing three issues: the dissolution of Parliament, the setting of a date for the general election and the tabling of tomorrow’s Budget 2023.
Talk is rife that instead of a budget being tabled, Parliament will instead be dissolved tomorrow to pave way for the 15th general election.
After all, this is the demand of Umno, the prime minister’s party, to hold the election as soon as possible come hell or highwater – literally.
The people may be fed up with the political shenanigans of the recent past which saw four prime ministers in as many years.
While they would want a strong and stable government soon, holding an election in the middle of the rainy season is not something that is appealing.
And why would Ismail Sabri and his Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz throw their painstakingly crafted election budget down the drain and not table it?
Some quarters opine that putting up a budget will offer more ammunition to the opposition as they will rip it apart line by line.
However, what will it say about a prime minister who chickens out of presenting his own budget?
It is a case of damned if he does or damned if he doesn’t.
