PETALING JAYA: PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man reiterates that opposition MPs must be given the same amount of funds as government MPs, not just funds for administrative expenses.
Tuan Ibrahim said giving opposition MPs funds only for administrative expenses was unfair and meant that Pakatan Harapan (PH) was breaking its electoral pledge made in the 15th general election (GE15).
“It wasn’t our GE15 pledge, but theirs,” he told FMT.
The Kubang Kerian MP said allocating funds for administrative expenses would only make it hard for opposition MPs to resolve the issues in their constituencies.
He added that these included issues like natural disasters, fires, and damages from thunderstorms. He also said he would wait for an official announcement on the matter.
Earlier today, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Putrajaya had agreed in principle to provide opposition MPs an allocation only for administrative expenses.
Zahid said the matter was being finalised with fellow deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof conducting negotiations with the relevant opposition leaders. He added that an announcement would be made by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Previously, electoral reform group Bersih urged PH to uphold its GE15 pledge of equal funds for all MPs.
Bersih said it was high time that opposition MPs were given equal constituency allocations, regardless of their political alliances.
The 148 government MPs receive RM1.3 million a year each for constituency development, an amount that is many times higher than the allocation for opposition MPs. The MPs are free to use the funds as they see fit, including paying the expenses of running their service centres.
The Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration had given equal funds to all MPs after the then prime minister signed a memorandum of understanding with PH shortly after he was appointed to the top post. - FMT
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