PETALING JAYA,Oct 23: A special Cabinet meeting is being held in Putrajaya attended by all ministers to discuss Budget 2021.
A source said the views of the ministers are being sought for the budget, which will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 6.
“All the ministers are at the meeting,” he said, adding that it is being chaired by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Budget 2021 comes amid the Covid-19 pandemic that has caused many businesses to close and forced thousands out of their jobs.
The opposition has been pushing for more allowances and assistance for businesses, including the tourism and service sectors, which are among those badly hit.
The source ruled out a Cabinet reshuffle, saying Muhyiddin is keen on getting a fresh mandate from the people.
“An election is the only way to move forward to get the rakyat’s mandate,” he said.
Another source told FMT that Barisan Nasional, PPBM and PAS divisions have been asked to name their candidates for GE15.
The division chiefs are in the midst of listing their candidates, he said, while a “political ceasefire” takes hold between Umno and PPBM.
“The seat negotiations among BN, PAS and PPBM are ongoing with the majority of them agreed upon. Now each party has been told to submit the names of the candidates,” he said.
The source said some groups had been pressuring for snap polls to be held as early as next month but “everything has been put on hold because of Covid-19”.
He said the people will not forgive the politicians if the polls were held now as the number of positive cases has been hovering around 700 to 800 a day recently.
“They are just waiting for the numbers to come down,” he added.
