Windfall for constituencies, but Nazri denies snap polls

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz today confirmed a RM500,000 increase in allocations for parliamentary districts, but denied that this is a prelude to snap elections.

"We decided on the increase sometime during this sitting," said the minister when met by reporters in the MPs' lounge.

According to him the reason for the jump in parliamentary allocation is because there are extra funds in government coffers.

"It's because we have extra money, so we give the allocation. The government is not in the business of keeping money. The government's business is in spending money."

"We don't put money in the bank and get interest, we have to spend, so we spend.

"It doesn't go into my pocket, but into the development for therakyat," explained Nazri (left).

Given that there are a total of 222 parliamentary constituencies, the additional allocation will amount an extra outlay of RM111 million.

Quizzed about allegations by the DAP that the extra cash signals an upcoming snap election, Nazri rubbished such rumours.

"No, we give this every year, not only this year, so does that mean that there are going to be snap polls every year?" he asked.

He claimed that such wild allegations are the hallmark of the opposition.

"That is typical of the opposition, just like Mahfuz (Omar, PAS-Pokok Sena). When they do it, it's okay, but if we do it they cry out. This is typical opposition style," Nazri opined.

Prime minister's purview

Each parliamentary constitutency get RM1 million in allocation from the federal government. In non-BN constituencies, the allocation is controlled by local BN parties.

Nazri also contended that contrary to opposition claims, the funds were not given to any MPs to control but are under the prime minister's purview, as such it is wrong to say that BN MPs get the allocation directly.

Anyone, he said, can request for the allocations directly from the PM or his office.

He explained that the PM's Office will receive recommendations from "locals on how to spend the funds, sometimes it's the MPs or Umno or MCA people".

However, he said that even if the allocations were given "more freely" to BN MPs, this is the same as practised in Selangor, where he claimed that only the menteri besar gives state allocations to Pakatan assemblypersons.

He was responding to statements made by Rasah parliamentarian Anthony Loke (right) in an earlier press conference questioning the sudden increase in parliamentary allocations.

"This year, they give another RM500,000. I'd like to ask the prime minister is this a prelude to a snap general election as more money is being given out to constituencies to win voters' hearts and minds?" asked Loke.

courtesy of Malaysiakini