GEORGE TOWN, Nov 18 – The opposition Pakatan Harapan federal lawmakers failed to vote down Budget 2016 on Monday night due to the Budget 2016 was passed by a division vote on the first reading as requested by the opposition MPs with 128 ayes and 74 nays, said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. He said this show that PAS was supporting of the GST.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also DAP secretary-general said PAS’s decision was clear that made by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang which voting against the budget indicated that the Islamist party supported policies like the goods and services tax (GST). He said PAS supporting the Budget 2016 which announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on October 23, 2015 which it may benefitted the people when GST was a burden to most while ringgit’s slide against US dollar.
“Hadi’s remark showed that PAS is supportive of GST and the lack of proposals to counter the drop of the currency. They just accept with the current policy of the federal government and okay with the financial scandals. You cannot support the Budget without the GST. While GST has also caused the country’s economic growth to slow down and the current business was bad,” Lim told the reporters in the Penang legislative assembly building lobby here on Tuesday.
He said there was no abolishment for GST, that is why they voted against the budget. In the meantime, he said there was not all PAS MPs were supporting the Budget 2016 which three MPs from PAS who broke ranks with their party to joined Pakatan Harapan MPs in voting down the Budget 2016 that announced by PM. The three PAS MPs are Datuk Mahfuz Omar from Pokok Sena, Ahmad Baihaki Atiqulah from Kubang Kerian and Dr Nik Mazian Nik Mohamad from Pasir Puteh.
