Khalid panned for funds ‘hypocrisy’

Khir said BN reps never asked Khalid’s administration for funds. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — Dr Khir Toyo accused Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim today of being hypocritical for disbursing state funds to only Pakatan Rakyat (PR) assemblymen.

Yesterday, the Selangor mentri besar said RM1 million has been allocated to each PR representative for constituency projects, but not to the state opposition as the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government had similarly discriminated against PR MPs.

“Khalid Ibrahim is not walking the talk,” Khir told The Malaysian Insider today.

“Pakatan Rakyat is fighting at the federal level asking for allocations to be given to PR MPs. If Pakatan feels that it is unfair, they should start first,” added the former Selangor mentri besar.

Khir also claimed that unlike PR, the Selangor BN opposition had never asked the state government for allocations.

“It is BN’s policy not to give allocations to the opposition party. So I have never fought for allocations from the state government,” said the Sungai Panjang assemblyman.

Johor Baru MP Datuk Seri Shahrir Abdul Samad similarly criticised Khalid for mimicking BN despite accusing the ruling coalition’s practice as “wrong”.

“Now, the pot is calling the kettle black,” Shahrir told The Malaysian Insider.

Khalid’s “tit-for-tat” explanation has drawn ridicule from BN.

“I thought they said what the BN government did is wrong, so why are they following us? You right a wrong not by repeating it; you right a wrong by doing what is right,” he added.

Shahrir also said BN was right in excluding the federal opposition from allocations for constituency projects.

“They don’t support the prime minister’s strategies. They even vote against the Budget. If they don’t support it, how can they ask for allocations?” said Shahrir.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz echoed Shahrir’s views and said Khalid’s move appeared to endorse BN’s practice of not handing out government funds to opposition MPs.

“To me, what Khalid does confirms that we are right all this while when the prime minister channels money to BN MPs to develop the country,” said Nazri.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong called Khalid “inconsistent”.

“All this while, Pakatan Rakyat, especially PKR MPs and leaders, have been harping on this issue and accused BN for implementing such so-called discriminatory policies by only allowing BN MPs to get allocations. And now, they are doing it,” said Wee.

“My advice to Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (is) ‘find a valid excuse to justify your action’,” he added.

PR holds 35 seats in the 56-seat state assembly.

Selangor’s move to woo voters comes ahead of a possible early general election this year.

The Malaysian Insider reported yesterday that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was considering holding snap polls only in the fourth quarter of this year to allow big-ticket economic projects to gain traction, delaying earlier plans to seek a fresh mandate in the first half of 2011. - Malaysian Insider