FT Minister willing to discuss Budget 2021 with KL opposition MPs
Updated 8.20PM | Added Annuar Musa's response.
Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa is prepared to meet with opposition MPs from Kuala Lumpur to discuss Budget 2021.
"No problem," Annuar told Malaysiakini when asked whether he would meet the lawmakers in the spirit of national reconciliation that his party, Umno, is pushing for.
Earlier the opposition MPs said they want to engage with Annuar on Budget 2021 to better prioritise the well-being of the citizens of Kuala Lumpur.
They said they were following Annuar’s comments on the proposal by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to declare a state of emergency, but reminded him to focus on his duties as the Federal Territories Minister.
“We would like to stress that since his appointment as the Federal Territories Minister in March 2020, he has not met with any Kuala Lumpur MP to discuss the issues related to governance in Kuala Lumpur, let alone the requests made by the MPs in the last Parliament sitting.
“We would like to remind Annuar to prioritise governance and the well-being of the rakyat in Kuala Lumpur.
“As a start, he should call for a meeting to discuss next year’s budget involving the areas in Kuala Lumpur,” a group of opposition MPs said in a joint statement today.
The MPs are Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai (photo), Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, Wangsa Maju MP Tan Yee Kew, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng, Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil, Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Batu MP P Prabakaran and Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh.
The MPs also urged Annuar to revive the Ministers Council, which was created by the former federal territories minister Khalid Samad, so that he could better understand the issues of Kuala Lumpur.
Budget expected to be tabled on Nov 6
“If he fails to do this, then it can be concluded that Annuar Musa does not prioritise the well-being and welfare of the rakyat of Kuala Lumpur,” they said.
Budget 2021 is expected to be tabled on Nov 6, 2020.
Annuar had come to Muhyiddin’s defence over the state of emergency proposal, saying that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was also part of the problem in triggering the current critical situation.
Anwar had previously claimed that he had garnered majority support to form a new government and had presented the numbers to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Oct 13.
A few weeks later, it was reported that Muhyiddin was contemplating declaring a state of emergency.
However, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong later said there was no need to declare a state of emergency and called for a stop to the politicking.
