Defence, home ministry budgets passed by voice vote

The budgets for the defence and home ministry were passed by voice vote after the committee-level debate in the Dewan Rakyat today, notching the 24th and 25th wins for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

The allocations were passed without being put to bloc vote after the debate which saw the participation of 10 MPs.

Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in his winding-up speech, said the PN government is committed to reviving the National Service programme to inculcate a spirit of patriotism in youth.

The programme was abolished under the previous Pakatan Harapan administration.

He said the ministry is preparing a Cabinet paper which would put forth different modules and approaches to those used before.

The defence ministry was allocated RM15.86 billion in the 2021 budget: RM11.355 billion for administration and RM4.5 billion for development.

The home ministry meanwhile was allocated RM16.85 billion.

The budget for 2021 – RM322.5 billion, the country’s largest ever – was passed at the policy stage on Nov 26 in what was seen as a crucial test of support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

It was passed by voice vote after the opposition failed to garner enough support to force a bloc vote.