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Selasa, 15 Desember 2020

Biden and McConnell talk after top Senate Republican acknowledges Democrat's election win - CNA

ATLANTA: US President-elect Joe Biden spoke with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday (Dec 15) and said that the two agreed to meet soon, after the lawmaker ended his silence on the results of the presidential election held six weeks ago.

McConnell congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory during remarks on the Senate floor on Tuesday, a day after the Electoral College formalised the Democrats' Nov 3 win.

The senator was among many congressional Republicans who had not acknowledged Biden's defeat of President Donald Trump, who has continued to make unfounded claims of election fraud and refused to concede.

Biden told reporters he spoke with McConnell before heading to Georgia, where he will campaign for two Democratic US Senate candidates whose Jan 5 runoff elections could make or break his domestic policy agenda.

"While we disagree on a lot of things, there are things we can work together on," Biden told reporters. "We agreed to get together sooner (rather) than later."

Democratic Delegates Certify Georgia's 16 Electoral College Votes — Democratic Electoral College elector Steve Henson looks at his signed vote for Joe Biden for president of the United States in the Georgia State Senate chambers in the Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta on Dec 14, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage)

Hours after their call, McConnell told reporters that lawmakers would not leave Washington this year until they have agreed on a new coronavirus economic relief package. Top US congressional leaders are meeting on Tuesday as they seek to finalise a government funding bill and end a standoff on economic relief.

McConnell and his top deputies pressed other Senate Republicans not to join with any House Republicans who may object to the election outcome when Congress meets on Jan 6 to ratify the decision.

Any such effort to challenge the results is almost certain to fail since it would require approval by both chambers, including the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

Also on Tuesday, Biden was congratulated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a favourite of Trump's, and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

READ: Biden says Trump 'refused to respect the will of the people'

Biden and Harris will be sworn in on the steps of the US Capitol on Jan 20 with far fewer people present than is customary due to the raging coronavirus that has killed more than 300,000 people in the United States, the inaugural planning committee said on Tuesday.

Festivities will be largely virtual, and the committee urged members of the public to refrain from travelling to Washington.

BIDEN CABINET PICKS

Biden has pressed ahead with building his Cabinet, with word of more picks emerging on Tuesday.

He has chosen Pete Buttigieg, his former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, to lead the US Transportation Department, according to three people familiar with the matter. Buttigieg, 38, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, would be the first LGBTQ person nominated to Biden's administration and, if confirmed, the first LGBTQ Cabinet secretary approved by the Senate.

US Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico is Biden's leading choice to head the Interior Department, according to three sources familiar with the proceedings, a selection that would make her the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency.

Biden's trip to Atlanta comes nine days after Trump travelled to Georgia in support of the Republican senators seeking re-election.

Biden's narrow win in Georgia last month underscored the Southern state's transformation from Republican stronghold to one of the country's most competitive political battlegrounds. That was illustrated again with more than 480,000 ballots cast after the first full day of in-person early voting and mail voting, according to the US Elections Project at the University of Florida.

Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are facing Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, respectively, in twin races that will determine which party will control the US Senate.

If the Republicans win either contest, they would maintain power in the Senate, allowing them to thwart many of Biden's ambitious legislative goals on issues such as the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and climate change.

A Democratic sweep would give Biden's party control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. Democrats already hold a majority in the House of Representatives.

Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in a statement that Warnock and Ossoff "represent the left-most fringe" of the Democratic Party and that Biden campaigning for them showed he was under the influence of that wing of the party.

Biden said on Tuesday that he planned to get the coronavirus vaccine "sooner than later" and reconfirmed his commitment to take it publicly.

Both parties in Georgia face turnout challenges in the midst of the pandemic and without the polarising Trump at the top of the ballot to turn out voters from his deeply loyal supporters, as well as from detractors with deep animosity toward him.

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2020-12-15 21:45:00Z
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Malaysia Parliament passes RM322.5 billion budget, proving majority support for PM Muhyiddin - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Following weeks of uncertainty, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's first federal budget - the biggest in the country's history - cleared a final hurdle to be ratified by Parliament on Tuesday (Dec 15), after surviving a parliamentary vote.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin's Perikatan Nasional government was backed by 111 MPs, compared with 108 MPs who voted against it, after a bloc voting procedure was triggered by the opposition.

The RM322.5 billion (S$105 billion) budget will now be sent to the Upper House, the Senate, to be ratified, before coming into effect.

However, Upper House approvals are generally a formality in the Malaysian legislature.

The victory for Mr Muhyiddin comes on the back of renewed doubts regarding his majority in the week preceding the final budget vote.

Earlier this week, speculation was once again rife that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had managed to secure the backing of several government MPs from Umno to undo Mr Muhyiddin's majority. But this was subsequently denied by Datuk Seri Anwar's faction, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

Mr Anwar, the PKR president, has been claiming parliamentary majority for the past three months and even had an audience with Malaysia's King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, in October to convince the ruler of his majority claim.

On Monday, Mr Muhyiddin's predecessor, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, also indicated possible failure of the budget while announcing that he was teaming up with a senior government MP, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, to offer forming a government should the budget fail.

Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh, the longest serving MP in Umno - the biggest component of Mr Muhyiddin's government - had called the PN administration "illegitimate" and said he would not back the budget.

But Mr Tengku Razaleigh's move did not appear to have a bearing on the voting pattern of other Umno lawmakers, showing that PM Muhyiddin still retained the support of at least 111 MPs in the 220-member house, following the death of two lawmakers earlier this year.

The opposition Pakatan Harapan decided not to call for bloc voting during the policy-stage vote for the budget last month. But on Tuesday they decided to challenge the budget twice in quick succession through division voting.

PH called the budget as a document that did not achieve its own objectives and urged even government lawmakers to vote it down.

But on both occasions, the outcome was the same, with the government obtaining 111 votes to the opposition's 108. Only one MP, Tengku Razaleigh, was absent.

The voting pattern also showed that all MPs who were present in the lower house had voted according to party lines.

Dr Mahathir on Monday urged lawmakers to vote according to their conscience and not party lines. "The MPs should think about the country first, not about themselves," Dr Mahathir had said at a joint news conference with Tengku Razaleigh.

The budget victory would likely solidify Mr Muhyiddin's grip as chief executive of the country for the immediate future.

Despite consistent questions regarding his majority since assuming the post of prime minister in March, Mr Muhyiddin's government has managed to pass a coronavirus relief bill, and now the federal budget in Parliament.

This is despite Mr Muhyiddin's majority never being debated or put to a vote in Parliament.

Mr Muhyiddin's majority has never been debated or put to a vote in Parliament. PHOTO: REUTERS

Numerous confidence and no confidence motions have been filed against Mr Muhyiddin, but none of them have seen the light of day in Parliament, where government Bills are prioritised.

This meant that the Bills in Parliament acted as a barometer of PM Muhyiddin's parliamentary support.

The budget victory comes just over a week after tensions between Mr Muhyiddin's Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Umno saw the fall of the Perak state government.

The Perak government was led by Bersatu's deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu, who was ousted last week after most of the Umno assemblymen voted against him. However, PN managed to form the Perak state government again, but this time with an Umno chief minister.

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2020-12-15 11:57:21Z
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Malaysia's slim budget vote win leaves Muhyiddin safe – for now - South China Morning Post

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Malaysia's slim budget vote win leaves Muhyiddin safe – for now South China Morning Post
Malaysia's 2021 budget passed at third reading in parliament CNA
Malaysia Parliament passes RM322.5 billion budget, proving majority support for PM Muhyiddin The Straits Times
Malaysia’s opposition expected to reject federal budget in final vote today Yahoo Singapore News
Malaysian PM Muhyiddin passes leadership test in final budget vote TODAYonline
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2020-12-15 10:34:07Z
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Malaysia's 2021 budget passed at third reading in parliament - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Supply Bill 2021 passed its third reading in the Lower House with a division vote on Tuesday (Dec 15).

A total of 111 Members of Parliament (MPs) voted in favour of the budget proposed by Mr Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

A total of 108 other voted against the bill, while one was absent.

The RM322.54 billion (US$77.9 billion) budget, tabled on Nov 6, is the biggest ever in Malaysia amid a COVID-19 pandemic. Inputs have earlier been sought from the opposition lawmakers on the formulation of this budget, the first time in the country’s history.

The Bill was earlier passed at policy stage on Nov 26 with a voice vote, based on lawmakers verbally indicating whether they support the budget or not.

Following that, the budget was debated at the committee stage, where allocation for each ministry was scrutinised. Allocations for all 27 ministries were passed.

The Bill will now go to the Senate, before it will be submitted to the Malaysian king for royal assent.

Seen largely as a confidence vote in Mr Muhyiddin's leadership, the result on Tuesday showed that the prime minister still commands a majority.

The absentee was Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Tengku Mohd Hamzah from United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), according to a Facebook post of Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Subang MP Wong Chen.

Tengku Razaleigh had a day earlier met the press alongside former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and indicated that they would work together to revive the country's economy.

CONTENTIOUS BILL PASSAGE

The Lower House has 222 seats but there are currently 220 MPs following the deaths of two MPs in October and November this year.

The PN government has a razor-thin majority, which was shown during the removal of the previous speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof with a 111-109 vote at the start of parliament's second meeting on Jul 13.

Mr Muhyiddin came into power in March after leading Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) out of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, triggering its collapse and Dr Mahathir Mohamad's resignation as Malaysia's seventh prime minister.

He has since been faced with maintaining a fragile balance of power with allies such as former ruling party UMNO.

The passage of Mr Muhyiddin’s first budget as prime minister has been a contentious one, as his administration faced fire from both sides of the political aisle.

Prior to the budget debates beginning early November, the opposition coalition PH had already declared six “non-negotiable” recommendations for a “Unity Budget”, including an increase in the number of temporary healthcare workers, as well as a special allocation to tackle the COVID-19 spread in Sabah.

READ: Pakatan Harapan makes 6 suggestions for Malaysia's budget 2021

Other points included expanding the social safety net and extending the loan moratorium, which was previously instituted from April to September this year until Mar 31 in 2021.

Meanwhile, former prime minister Najib Razak, who leads the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers’ Club, said the former ruling coalition, now supporting Mr Muhyiddin’s PN government, would support budget 2021.

However, this was on condition that citizens could make a one-off withdrawal of up to RM10,000 (US$2,461,24) from Account 1 of their Employees Provident Fund, as well as extending the loan moratorium.

Another point of contention included an allocation of RM85.5 million for the Special Affairs Department (JASA), now rebranded to Community Communications Department (JKOM). On Dec 10, its allocation was slashed to RM40.5 million.

READ: Why there is robust debate in Malaysia's parliament over a move to revive the government's 'propaganda unit'

OPPOSITION MOVES

On Monday, the opposition bloc walked out in protest after three MPs comprising two government ministers and one opposition MP, were allowed into the chambers to vote while dressed in full personal protective equipment (PPE).

The three were supposed to be under quarantine after coming into contact with COVID-19 patients.

Later the same day, Dr Mahathir and his former political rival Tengku Razaleigh held a joint press conference, raising the spectre of the budget being defeated in Tuesday's reading.

Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah react after a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia December 14, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng

In the press conference, the two urged their parliamentary colleagues to put Malaysia ahead of personal or party interests when the Bill was tabled for the third reading.

Dr Mahathir said Mr Muhyiddin's PN government may fall if it loses the vote.

"If it loses, then we have no government. Then there is a need to form a government," he said.

PH also issued a statement on Monday urging MPs from both the opposition camp and the government side to reject the budget at its third reading.

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2020-12-15 09:00:00Z
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