Why sign CSA when govt has two-thirds majority, asks Kiandee

A Perikatan Nasional (PN) MP has questioned the confidence and supply agreement (CSA) between seven opposition MPs and Putrajaya, saying it is unnecessary as the government bloc commands a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

Ronald Kiandee (PN-Beluran) said the government had the numbers needed to pass legislation, including constitutional amendments that require two-thirds majority support.

The suspended Bersatu vice-president said CSAs were conventionally for minority governments that lacked the numbers needed to pass bills.

“This was the situation under the (Ismail Sabri Yaakob) government, when it genuinely did not have a sufficient majority.

“But the current government not only has a comfortable majority, it also commands a two-thirds majority,” he said when debating the 2027 budget at the committee stage.

Ismail’s administration had a simple majority, but the then prime minister signed a reform pact with Pakatan Harapan to ensure stability until the end of the parliamentary term.

Last week, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin (PN-Pagoh) led five other party MPs in signing the CSA with the government. Muda’s Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar) also signed the agreement.

Under the deal, the MPs will back the government until the end of its term.

In return, the opposition MPs gain access to constituency development funds, while Putrajaya will seek to limit the prime minister’s term and separate the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor before its term ends.

Kiandee said the CSA suggested that the government was unstable and needed additional support from opposition MPs.

He also warned that it could create the perception that Putrajaya was using the promise of constituency development funds under the CSA as a political weapon to secure additional support.

“The government must not use its power, influence or strength in numbers to turn parliamentary allocations into a political weapon. That should not happen.”

The CSA was signed amid worsening ties between PH and Barisan Nasional, key allies in the federal government.

Bersatu, meanwhile, remains a PN component but has fallen out of favour with PAS, which chairs the opposition coalition.

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