What began as an effort to continue serving her constituents after losing access to her constituency allocation has become a symbol of what Ampang MP Rodziah Ismail describes as a political betrayal.
Less than 24 hours after launching her asam pedas business, Rodziah said she felt "betrayed", "humiliated" and "bullied" over the decision to ban her from the MyKhas portal, insisting there was no basis for the move and that she had never been given a fair hearing.
The MyKhas portal manages parliamentary allocations and is overseen by the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU), which is under the Prime Minister's Department.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Rodziah also remained resolute in continuing to serve Ampang constituents until the end of her term, despite the setback.
"I feel betrayed and that I have been treated without any basis.
"If I had breached party discipline, the party should tell me what offence I had committed. But I was never given a fair hearing," she said today.
In a statement on Wednesday, Rodziah said that if the decision by the ICU was linked to her attendance at the Bersama launching event in Petaling Jaya on May 17, the matter had already been officially explained to the PKR disciplinary board via a letter dated June 23.
However, she said the explanation, submitted in response to a notice dated June 16, had yet to receive a response.
She also expressed dismay over the abrupt appointment of a coordinator to take over her role.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's political secretary announced that he had been appointed Ampang’s “parliamentary coordinator”.
Azman said he would coordinate efforts with the ICU and the relevant government agencies to ensure government initiatives reach the people more effectively.
He added that the delivery of assistance would also be coordinated closely with the state assemblypersons representing Ampang, community leaders and other relevant parties.
Abrupt suspension
The statement follows Rodziah's allegation that her office's access to the MyKhas system was abruptly suspended, making her the third PKR lawmaker to face such a restriction after Subang MP Wong Chen and Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung.
Rodziah, however, claimed she was neither informed nor consulted about Azman's appointment.
"I feel humiliated and bullied by being recognised as a government backbencher (BBC), yet having someone else decide how my constituency allocation should be spent.
"Who gave the coordinator the mandate?" she asked.
For now, Rodziah plans to soldier on, relying on her culinary skills.
"Whatever it is, I will continue this struggle and give the best service to the constituents who elected me until the end of my term," she said, reiterating her stance after previously coming under criticism for being seen with former PKR deputy president and Bersama co-leader Rafizi Ramli.
Rodziah said she will operate her asam pedas business from her service centre every Friday at 11.30am, under her “Projek Amal Rakyat” (People's Welfare Project) campaign.
In her digital poster, she also included a bank account number for donor contributions.
Questions abound
In a Facebook post yesterday, Lee had questioned whether the remaining RM3 million in constituency allocations for his seat had been diverted to the management of the PKR leadership.
This comes after Lee said he had received a screenshot purportedly showing Petaling Jaya PKR division chief Hee Loy Sian informing party members that the ICU applications for minor works and financial assistance for the constituency can be referred to him.
“Does the allocation remain under government control through a transparent process, or is it now being administered through a mechanism managed by PKR?
“The government must explain the actual mechanism to avoid the perception that public funds have become ‘party funds’.
“Therefore, the public has the right to ask whether the move to transfer the authority to manage public funds to a political party branch chief constitutes a form of ‘sakau’ (theft) that is now deemed acceptable,” he said.
He further questioned why funds intended for the public were allegedly managed by a political party leader instead of the elected representative, and why the change had not been announced publicly.
The lawmaker also questioned whether other MPs who similarly lost access to the MyKhas portal were facing the same situation.
Malaysiakini has contacted Anwar's press officer, Hee, MACC and the ICU for comments.
While the press officer, MACC and Hee have yet to respond, ICU told Malaysiakini that it has no comments for now and will update when there are developments.
The issue has also raised broader questions about the role of elected representatives in managing constituency allocations, which are government-controlled funds rather than an automatic entitlement of MPs.
Rights not affected
On June 5, Bernama reported government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil assuring that the restriction of access to the MyKhas portal for Lee and Wong did not affect their rights as elected representatives.
He said allocations distributed through the MyKhas website were special allocations from the prime minister and were separate from any facilities or rights provided to MPs through Parliament.
Fahmi, who is also communications minister, added that residents in both constituencies could still submit applications for assistance through the available channels.
While the government has maintained that such allocations fall under its administrative purview, critics have questioned whether appointing non-elected coordinators to oversee constituency funds could undermine the role and accountability of elected lawmakers to their constituents.
Parliament oversight needed
Yesterday, former Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad called for parliamentary allocations to be protected under an Act of Parliament, arguing that they should not be left to the discretion of the prime minister or the Prime Minister’s Office.
Taking to X, he said allocations for MPs should be guaranteed through legislation to ensure they are provided to all elected representatives regardless of party.
He added that such a law would also prevent parliamentary allocations from being used as a political tool by those in power.
The Bersama co-leader also pointed to a “strange situation”, where PKR representatives were being denied allocations despite not being removed as party members, while BN members who criticised Anwar and Pakatan Harapan during state elections continued to receive funds.
Rodziah also agreed with her former party colleague's call.
"From last time I have agreed to this, even before the issue against me began. In my podcast yesterday, I stressed the same matter," she said.
'Self-inflicted betrayal'
On June 4, PKR deputy secretary-general Bryan Ng defended the government’s move to restrict access to the MyKhas portal for Lee and Wong.
In a statement, he said the duo lost access to the platform as a result of their own “self-inflicted betrayal”, referring to the duo’s known political alignment with former PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli.
Ng said Putrajaya reserves the right to manage its public funds through “recognised, loyal channels” and not allow them to be weaponised by representatives showing “clear signs of defection” to a newly formed rival party.
In his statement, Ng said the suspension of MyKhas’ access to Lee and Wong was neither selective persecution nor an administrative oversight.
Instead, it was an act based on fundamental principles, discipline, and basic political accountability.
“It is the direct institutional consequence of their own political choices.
“You cannot actively choose to align with a platform built to overthrow the government, and simultaneously demand that the very same government hand over state resources," Ng added. - Mkini
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