Johor budget goes to committee stage after voice vote

Johor budget goes to committee stage after voice vote

The vote had been highly anticipated because there was speculation that the menteri besar would be forced to step down if it was rejected.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin attending the Johor state assembly in his capacity as Gambir state assemblyman today. Standing in front of him is Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad.
JOHOR BAHRU:
The 2021 state budget has passed into the committee stage today after a voice vote in the state assembly.

Prime Minister and PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin, who is the assemblyman for Gambir, was among those present.

All eyes were on the sitting today as there was speculation that Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad might be forced to step down if the motion was not adopted.

Yesterday, the Perak menteri besar, PPBM deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu, resigned after losing a confidence vote in the state assembly. There were fears that PPBM members might retaliate against Hasni, who is from Umno.

The Johor assembly has 56 seats with Umno and DAP each having 14 seats, followed by PPBM (12), MIC (two), PAS (one), Amanah (nine) and PKR (four).

A simple majority of 29 seats is required to form the state government in Johor.

Last week, Johor announced a deficit budget of RM248.14 million. The state government, however, is expected to spend RM850 million in development expenditure to implement the 12 key agendas of the budget.

It also said it would triple the total allocation for the opposition assemblymen from RM50,000 to RM150,000.

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