As Hindus celebrate the Festival of Lights, Deepavalli, I hope all Malaysians will get a needful present from Budget 2022 tabled today at the Dewan Rakyat. But, don’t be too hopeful. It’s expected to be an election Budget which means, the government’s political base, namely the M20 and B40 groups will get most of the goodies.

Even so, the rest of us might get something. Pakatan Harapan (PH) will be waiting to see if its proposals under the MoU it signed with the current government have been included in the Budget. If the proposals are met, under the MoU, PH will not vote against the Budget or any money bill in order to topple the government.

The current government, however, is an unconstitutional government and for that reason alone — even if they present a forward-looking budget — PH should vote against the Budget. Government revenue and taxpayers’ money should never be put in the hands of a government that has not received the stamp of legitimacy by surviving a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

Should the Budget be passed, the only solution left is to call for elections which I hope will happen sooner rather than later.

So, we are going through uncertain times. But it’s Deepavali, celebrating the hope that light eventually always triumphs over darkness! So, enjoy the festival (which by the way falls on next Thursday) and the holiday it offers and just get on with our lives — until general elections. Then, we will tell our MPs exactly what we think of them!