He said while Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi previously said all 43 BN MPs will pledge their support for Budget 2021, this did not prevent Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin yesterday declaring that MPs should support, reject or abstain on the vote on the budget based on their conscience.

“Khaled suggested that Umno MPs should be allowed to break ranks with their party during the vote on the Budget 2021 in the Dewan Rakyat if they disagreed with the fiscal document,” said Lim in a statement today.

“So, will the 38 Umno MPs split into two factions, with one voting against the Budget 2021 and toppling Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister?”

The Iskandar Puteri MP also pointed out that Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had also called on MPs to think about their constituents’ interests and not merely adhere to party orders when deciding which way to vote.

Lim said this led to BN secretary-general Annuar Musa dismissing Tengku Razaleigh’s remarks as his “personal view”, going on to issue a warning to Umno MPs that those thinking of voting against the party line risked electoral consequences.

Lim also noted that former prime minister Najib Razak, in his maiden speech as the new chairman of the Barisan Nasional (BN) Backbenchers’ Club, had only expressed conditional support for next year’s budget.

The Perikatan Nasional coalition has a thin majority in Parliament and there has been speculation that Umno MPs might vote against the budget on Thursday.

A vote against the budget may result in snap polls for the country which is in the midst of battling an increase in Covid-19 cases, said to be a direct result of the Sept 26 Sabah elections.