Tunku Mohar Mokhtar of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) said that while six demands made by PH were worth looking into, it was now up to Perikatan Nasional (PN) to consider the suggestions, if the ruling coalition wanted support for the “Unity Budget”.

He said Malaysians would have to wait and see whether PH would be true to their word in supporting a budget that included their requests.

He said the opposition’s use of an ultimatum was a shrewd move. “It tells PN that PH is not giving a blank cheque to any kind of budget that PN will table in Parliament.”

Syed Arabi Idid of IIUM said that early discussions had shown the “PM’s willingness to listen or be inclusive”. However, Syed Arabi said he doesn’t expect things to proceed smoothly despite the budget being labelled a unity budget.

“True colours will be seen when the budget proposal is tabled and discussion ensues in Parliament,” he said, adding that he expects some pushback from the opposition in order to satisfy their constituencies.

“It will yield intense debate and scrutiny before the House votes on it.”

Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah said that the “inclusiveness” of the proposal should help get the budget passed, and said PN should continue working with opposition parties to maximise the chances of this happening.

“I’m sure consulting each of the parties, even those from PH, will increase the possibility of the budget getting passed.”

He added that he expects “some modification” to be made to PH’s requests during the debate process.