Bersih: Should voters in opposition constituencies withhold taxes?

The Perikatan Nasional government's move to withhold parliamentary allocations for MPs not aligned to the ruling coalition is another betrayal to voters, charged electoral watchdog Bersih.

This comes after lawmakers, including Bersatu's Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman and PKR's Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil, said their annual allocations have been withheld.

Bersih said if allocations for the constituencies can be held back due to political alignment, then voters should question if they can also withhold their taxes.

"Voters in the constituencies held by the opposition should not be punished for electing MPs, who are not aligned with the ruling coalition.

"If opposition voters should be denied funding, should they be exempted from paying taxes, too?" it asked in a statement today.

Bersih added that Pakatan Harapan-aligned MPs are also bearing the brunt now after failing to undo this BN legacy when they were in power.

Harapan had allocated funds to opposition MPs but at a lower sum compared to MPs in the ruling coalition.

"PN pulling back funding for former government MPs is an unconcealed manifestation of the restoration of BN, with only composition change," said Bersih.

The watchdog described the move to withhold allocations as "unscrupulous and undermocractic" as well as holds voters at ransom.

It also condemned Harapan-led state governments of Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan for only allocating funds to its own “constituency coordinators” instead of assemblypersons.

Therefore, Bersih demanded all state governments and the federal government to remove this "discriminatory" practice and restore allocations to opposition MPs and assemblypersons.

"All MPs and assemblypersons should have equal funding that is statutorily provided regardless of party allegiance and not at the discretion of the prime minister/menteri besar/chief minister.

"Such spending must be rigorously governed by guidelines and audited to avoid corruption and to ensure the people truly benefit from the allocation," it said. - Mkini