Bloc voting at committee stage secures passage of Supply Bill 2021 for PM’s Dept, Finance Ministry
KUALA LUMPUR: The Supply Bill 2021 for the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM) and Ministry of Finance (MoF) was passed at the committee stage yesterday through a bloc voting, which saw over 100 MPs voting in favour and 95 against.
The bloc voting was carried out after more than 15 MPs – the minimum number required – stood up and called for it following a majority voice vote.
The budget for JPM was passed after a 105-95 bloc voting with 20 MPs absent, while the MoF’s budget was passed 107-95 with 18 absentees.
Members of Parliament react as the voting results are announced by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun. — Bernama photo
Earlier, 18 MPs debated the budget for JPM before the winding up by the respective ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department, while 10 other MPs participated in the debate on the budget for the MoF before the winding-up speech by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
The debate, winding up and voting of the budget at the committee stage would be taking place until Dec 15, with those involving the Foreign Ministry, National Unity Ministry, and Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry scheduled for today.
The Supply Bill 2021, tabled by Tengku Zafrul on Nov 6, was passed at the policy stage last Thursday through a majority voice vote after two weeks of debate and a four-day winding-up session.
When winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2021 at the committee stage for the department, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof touched on the issue raised by Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PH-Port Dickson) on the appointment of a large number of Cabinet members.
Mohd Redzuan said the appointment was based on the needs of the government, especially in ensuring that all government programmes and projects would be implemented efficiently, smoothly and would have a more meaningful impact.
“In this case, the number of Perikatan Nasional’s administrators is not too big, although there is an increase compared to the (previous) Pakatan Harapan government,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri said more than RM536 million in ‘zakat’ (tithe) was collected by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council to help those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since the enforcement of the Movement Control Order in March, he said the council had spent almost RM75 million to help this group.
Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan, in winding up issues related to Parliament and law, said the government was still mulling enacting a Parliamentary Service Act. He said based on surveys, Parliament officers would prefer an open-service system because it was better in terms of promotion, with wider career opportunities.
A total of 18 MPs from the government and opposition blocs participated in the debate for about an hour and 45 minutes.
The first-day debate of the Bill at the committee stage focused on various issues including allocation for the Syariah Judiciary Department, absorption of contract workers, allocation for Islamic affairs, the Gerik and Bugaya by-elections, as well as Sabah and Sarawak elections.
The Dewan Rakyat sitting continues today. — Bernama