COMMENT | Firstly, let me declare that I stand behind the majority of opposition MPs and some government backbenchers in opposing Budget 2021 as it is.

A political budget to favour a sitting government and not a people’s budget should never be allowed to sail through in Parliament.

Do we have to remind lawmakers that they must be on the side of the people? A race-centric budget is never about Malaysians. It smacks of bad, real bad politics.

I also agree with them in ticking off Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz for his perceived threat that civil servants and Covid-19 frontliners risked losing their salaries should the budget be defeated.

Any attempt to threaten lawmakers and instil fear among civil servants is unacceptable. No matter how the finance minister tried to wriggle his way out of the backlash, he has erred big time. Let us hope the newbie minister has learned some lessons from this episode...