Enact laws or lose equal constituency funding, says think tank

 

IDEAS CEO Tricia Yeoh said the legal reforms on equal constituency funding must happen in parallel with the enactment of political funding laws.

PETALING JAYA: Without legislation, MPs from both sides will only enjoy the equal allocation for their constituencies until the end of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the government, says a think tank.

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) CEO Tricia Yeoh said that while the MoU provided a clause for an equal constituency development funding (ECDF), it would not last forever.

“The MoU that was signed last year actually has a clause that promises an ECDF to government and opposition MPs. It was not to all MPs, just those who were signatories.

“While we welcome this move, the problem is it is not institutionalised, so (when the MoU expires), that will be it,” Yeoh said at a conference today.

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She added that legal reforms to provide both government and opposition MPs and assemblymen equal funding to develop their constituencies must happen in parallel with the enactment of political funding laws, the former for after they’re elected and the latter for when campaigning for their seats.

Meanwhile, Sungai Panjang assemblyman Imran Tamrin suggested that one way to regulate the use of constituency development funds was to have special select committees at both federal and state levels to monitor how the money was being utilised by elected representatives.

“This will make them accountable not just to the public, but also to fellow MPs and assemblymen,” he said.

Under the current practice, development funds for government MPs are many times more than what opposition members receive. The funds are used at their discretion on constituency projects.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and PH leaders signed the MoU in September 2021, agreeing to work together to restore political stability while the government managed the Covid-19 pandemic and to help bolster economic recovery.

While the MoU does not have an expiry date, it states that the government and PH had agreed that the general election should not be held before July 31. - FMT