PETALING JAYA: Senators have yet to receive their annual allocations, which are normally handed out at the beginning of the year, two members of the upper house confirmed.
Senators generally receive RM100,000 in funds, but there were plans by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to increase it to RM300,000.
A senator who did not want to be named said he was unsure why the disbursements of funds has been delayed.
“We have been asking for the allocation but there doesn’t seem to be much response,” he told FMT.
Another senator, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Anwar, who is also the finance minister, is expected to resolve the matter shortly.
“I was informed last week that Anwar will make an announcement about it soon,” the senator said.
An aide to another senator said that funds channelled to them were meant to help the public and NGOs.
Confirming that his senator also had yet to receive any funds since the government came to power, the source revealed that the last time they received an allocation was in January 2022.
“Because no money has been channelled, the senators signed a memorandum on the last day of the 12th Malaysia Plan mid-term review sitting of the Dewan Negara (Sept 19),” the source said.
The memorandum noted that a special meeting was held on Feb 14 between Anwar, former Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim and the senators.
“(The) prime minister had agreed verbally to provide an allocation of RM300,000 per year to each senator for people and development programmes.
“Dewan Negara members hope the government can approve this provision in line with the commitment of the prime minister,” it said.
The aide said the senators had received their allocations on time when Ismail Sabri Yaakob was the prime minister.
FMT has reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office for comment. - FMT
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