‘PM wants it foolproof’
Sources: Muhyiddin wants Budget to focus on people-oriented allocations
PETALING JAYA: Perikatan Nasional ministers met in Putrajaya to discuss Budget 2021 to ensure it will be planned and executed meticulously.
The Cabinet meeting yesterday was dominated by discussions on the Budget, with sources saying that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin wants to ensure the government would be able to present a “foolproof” budget that is people-oriented and cannot be “torn apart by the Opposition”.
“The Prime Minister urged everyone to put aside everything else and concentrate fully on Budget 2021, as the country is not only facing a Covid-19 pandemic, but a need to ensure that the economy can recover with a properly tailored budget,” said sources.
“He further stated that as the people are carefully watching every step of the Perikatan government in steering the country during this time, the ministers should ensure that their ministries play their roles to perfection.
“Muhyiddin was quite emotional in his hour-long address as he chaired the meeting when he said that it is time for all components of the Perikatan government to rise to the occasion as Budget 2021 will be the ‘make or break’ for them.
“This is because there is the threat of the opposition MPs not letting the budget through,” said one source, who did not want to be identified as Cabinet meetings are private and confidential.
Budget 2021 is slated to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 6.
Another source said that the Cabinet meeting yesterday also discussed various ways to strengthen the Budget 2021 further to ensure that all target groups would get a piece of the economic pie.
“There was unanimous support from the Cabinet that more initiatives should be included in the budget to provide more allocations and exemptions for the lower-income groups and the SMEs.
“Muhyiddin also narrated to them on what took place between him and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong during the pre-Cabinet meeting earlier in the day. He informed us of the King’s wishes for Budget 2021 and said that everything in the budget should be about the people’s welfare and nothing else.
“This was one of the longest Cabinet meetings of Perikatan,” the source claimed.
The meeting, which began at about 11am, lasted through lunchtime and only ended after nearly four hours.