Malaysia PM wins budget vote, survives key leadership test

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin survived a key test of his leadership on Thursday when he won enough support in Parliament for his 2021 budget.

House speaker Azhar Azizan Harun determined that the Budget passed in a voice vote after declining to hold a bloc vote due to insufficient numbers. The results will ensure Mr Muhyiddin, who took power in March, remains in office for now as the Budget enters a second round of debates next week.

His victory came after months of pressure on him to prove he commands majority support in Parliament. Still, it is unclear how long he can hang on. His coalition allies have urged him to allow for a confidence motion to be tabled in Parliament, and to hold an election once the pandemic is under control.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz sought to offer an olive branch to lawmakers by adding a slew of proposals from both the ruling coalition and opposition parties. The US$78 billion spending plan for 2021 is set to be the nation's biggest Budget yet.

The main equities index extended gains to 0.9 per cent after the vote result. The ringgit rose 0.4 per cent to 4.0728 per US dollar, while government bonds held losses.

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Mr Muhyiddin still faces more challenges in the next few weeks. The supply bill will enter the "committee stage" next Monday, which means several more rounds of voting as the lower house scrutinises each portion of the bill until it finally adjourns for the year on Dec 15.

If Parliament does not agree to a spending plan before Dec 31, only about 20 per cent of the original Budget alloted for pensions and debt servicing can be spent without the legislative assembly's nod, analysts at Maybank wrote in a note. BLOOMBERG