Govt funding for opposition: Was PN fair, asks Nazri

 Former Umno MP Nazri Aziz today questioned Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders if they were fair to the opposition in terms of allocation for MPs when they were the government.

This comes after recent calls by PN MPs who want the Anwar Ibrahim-led government to be fair by channelling the same amount of funding to all parliamentarians regardless of their party.

“Let’s ask them back, when they were in power, did they ever talk about this? Were their hearts so kind to give (the same allocation) to the opposition MPs then? No, they did not.

“So why now they want to talk so much, saying they should get equal allocation and such,” the Umno veteran told Malaysiakini.

Nazri (above), who is a former Padang Rengas MP, was asked to comment on PN’s Arau MP Shahidan Kassim’s statement yesterday where he called the government unfair for denying funding to opposition MPs.

A similar call was made by PAS’ Jerantut MP Khairil Nizam Khirudin in December, who wanted the government to provide equal allocation to all parliamentary constituencies.

PAS’ Jerantut MP Khairil Nizam Khirudin

Adding further, Nazri said this does not mean the government would not give funding to parliamentary constituencies that are under the opposition at all.

Opposition MPs can always write to the prime minister to apply for allocation, he said, and the premier would consider if whatever projects the MPs want to do are necessary.

One key reason for this, according to Nazri, was to ensure whatever government funding that goes to opposition MPs would not be abused for their political purposes.

“They are not as free as government MPs to spend money. We (the government) can decide (what we want to do), but for them, they have to write in. But the money will still be spared.

“If the government gives RM1 million, they will still get RM1 million, but we must ensure how they spend it would not give them any political advantage, to the extent that we do not know where the money allocated goes.

“Because we have to be careful, they might use the money for political purposes.”

Nazri said the fund allocation process is also a way for the government to pull the opposition into a discussion.

Without such a tool, he stressed, an administration could not bring the opposition to the negotiation table.

He pointed to the previous memorandum of understanding signed between the BN-led government with Pakatan Harapan in 2021 as an example.

“So, to me, no, the answer is no. There is no such thing as we have to be equal. We don’t have to be equal.

“Moreover, they are so recalcitrant now. Instead of working together, they are fighting us now. So, since they want to fight, then let’s fight-lah,” Nazri said.

Allocations meant for the people

However, veteran Harapan leader Hassan Abdul Karim believed otherwise.

In a statement to Malaysiakini, the Pasir Gudang MP said he supports the idea that all MPs in the Dewan Rakyat are given equal allocation.

“I propose that we have a law that would give all 222 MPs in the country equal allocation. Here are my reasons.

“For one, the allocation for MPs from the government is meant for the people in their respective constituencies. The rakyat has chosen the MP as their representative, so we should not be unfair to the people just because the MP they chose is from the opposition.

Pakatan Harapan’s Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim

“This is also a form of institutional reform for the Parliament. So that we no longer need to have a memorandum of understanding before opposition MPs can get equal funding from the government.

“Equal allocation would also create a fair and satisfying environment among representatives of the people. And this would reduce the game of politics,” he said.

According to Hassan, giving every MP the same allocation would increase the effectiveness of their service centres and also prevent corruption as MPs no longer have to depend on companies and individuals for sponsorship.

Parties and politicians would also no longer be afraid to be the opposition as they will still get funding from the government, and this will create healthy politics, he added. - Mkini