9-0 as Miti budget scrapes through bloc vote

The allocation for the international trade and industry ministry was passed by bloc vote following the debate at the committee level in the Dewan Rakyat today, marking the ninth budget victory for the Perikatan Nasional government.

The RM1.2 billion budget received the support of 110 MPs while 104 opposed it and six were absent.

Yesterday, the budgets for the energy and natural resources ministry, the agriculture and food industries ministry, and the rural development ministry were passed by voice vote.

Allocations for five other portfolios were also previously passed: the plantation industries and commodities ministry, the foreign ministry, the national unity ministry, the finance ministry and the Prime Minister’s Department.

The budgets for the Prime Minister’s Department and the finance and plantation ministries were passed by bloc vote while the two others were passed by voice vote.

The budget for 2021 – RM322.5 billion, the country’s largest ever – was passed at the policy stage on Nov 26 in what was seen as a crucial test of support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

It was passed by voice vote after the opposition failed to garner enough support to force a bloc vote.