Budget tabling now on Oct 7

KUALA LUMPUR: Budget 2023, which had been scheduled to be tabled in Parliament on Oct 28, has now been moved three weeks earlier to Oct 7, fuelling talk of snap elections.

Barisan Nasional officials, in reacting to the news, said Parliament could be dissolved after the Budget is tabled.

The change in Budget date comes days after the Umno political bureau meeting on Wednesday, a day after former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was sent to jail after losing his final appeal against a 12-year sentence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob informed the Cabinet yesterday of the decision to bring forward the Budget.

It will be presented by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz as the Dewan Rakyat will be starting its next meeting on Oct 3, instead of the initially scheduled Oct 26.

Following the Cabinet endorsement, the next step is to inform Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, who will need at least 28 days to inform MPs of the new date.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar confirmed that the third meeting of the fifth session of the 14th Parliament would start on Oct 3 with Budget 2023 tabled on Oct 7.

He said that the decision was made by the Prime Minister and agreed to by the Cabinet, in line with Rule 11(2) of the Standing Orders and Rules of Dewan Rakyat.

Wan Junaidi explained that the Budget was pushed forward to allow money to flow by the early part of next year.

“Logically, the tabling of the Budget should be even much earlier, in late September,” he explained.

He said there were several things that needed to be taken into consideration such as administrative matters, including the passing of the Budget in both the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara before the Finance Ministry can distribute the respective allocations.

“The (Parliament) meeting will end on Nov 29, so voting on the Budget will take place before that,” said Wan Junaidi.

Asked if the changes had to do with the 15th General Election (GE15), which has been widely speculated to be held this year, Wan Junaidi dismissed such talk, saying that was up to the Prime Minister.

“There is no discussion on the date of the general election. It is the prerogative of the Prime Minister to seek an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (to dissolve Parliament),” he said.

In a separate statement, the minister said that the new schedule for Dewan Negara will be held from Nov 21 to Dec 7.

He reiterated that the changes in calendar dates was to allow Budget 2023 to be tabled earlier.

Azhar, meanwhile, said he had yet to be notified on the changes of the dates.

The five-year mandate of the current government expires in July next year and GE15 must be held within 60 days of the dissolution of Parliament.