Should Budget 2021 fail, is a govt shutdown inevitable? Not quite, say constitutional experts

• Published date: 19 November 2020
• Publication title: Malay Mail Online

Following the tabling of Perikatan Nasional's (PN) Budget 2021, the administration's first major Bill, mixed reactions from both its allies and the Opposition have fuelled talks of a myriad of possible outcomes should the Budget fail to gain the approval of Parliament.

Among these whispers are strong claims of an inevitable government shutdown triggered by a failed Budget, with state news agency Bernama even comparing it to the 35-day shutdown imposed by Donald Trump's United States government in December 2018.

A shutting down of the government would ostensibly stall funding to all civil operations and block desperately needed allocations and aid meant for those hard hit by the economic downturn, especially frontliners battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

With Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz issuing a veiled warning to lawmakers that a failed Budget would lead to unpaid salaries for public servants, it is no surprise Malaysians believe such an outcome might actually come to pass.

So is a government shutdown inevitable if Budget 2021 fails in Parliament?

According to constitutional experts, the short answer is: yes, it's a potential outcome, but, no, not a foregone conclusion.

Advance Tertiary College senior law lecturer and academic director Daniel Abishegam explained to Malay Mail that unlike in the US where Trump does not need to command the majority support of the Congress to administer or impose a shutdown, the situation here is very much different.

'This won't happen in Malaysia because of our constitutional...