Only Syed Saddiq responded to MoU on opposition allocations, says minister

 

Federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said there is no reason for the government to resume negotiations on the MoU as the opposition rejected it without any official feedback. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: 

Only Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has officially responded to the draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on allocations for opposition MPs so far, says federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.

She said Syed Saddiq of Muda had also requested certain amendments to the MoU, which the government is willing to consider.

If no official response is received from other opposition MPs, only the Muar MP is likely to be eligible for this allocation,

 she said during a special chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

She was responding to a motion by Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau), who urged the federal government to review the MoU concerning allocations for opposition MPs.

Zaliha said the draft MoU was submitted by deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof, who is also the government’s chief whip, to the opposition’s chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan on Sept 15. However, it was rejected without any feedback from the opposition, she added.

“In my discussions with the deputy prime minister (Fadillah), it was noted that the negotiation process between the government and the opposition has essentially stalled because the opposition has yet to provide any official feedback. Therefore, there is no reason for the government to resume negotiations.

To use an analogy, it is as if the government has made a proposal to the opposition, but since there was no reply, it wouldn’t be appropriate for the government to propose again,

 she said. - FMT