IN The run-up to the 2022 general election, Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) manifesto, Kita Boleh (literally “We can”) clearly stated that all MPs regardless of political affiliation, would be given equal development allocation.
It even went further to say that the allocation will be disbursed not by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) which was the common practice but through Parliament.
Fast forward to 2024, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was reported in the media recently as saying that Opposition MPs just needed to negotiate with the Government to receive allocations for their constituencies.
Whatever happened to giving without strings attached? Why is there a need to negotiate when the manifesto clearly stated that all MPs would be given equal constituency development funds?
Why is the Madani administration punishing voters just because they elected someone who’s not from the ruling federal coalition or supportive of it? Wasn’t this the pet peeve of PH MPs back when they were in the opposition? Why are they using the same playbook?
In calling for opposition MPs to expedite the negotiation process with the government on this, Anwar pinned the blame solely on Perikatan Nasional (PN) lawmakers when it was him and his coalition who had promised to provide equal funding to all.
His assurance that the allocation was not in exchange for supporting his government does not hold water. If that were the case, why did six ex-Bersatu MPs switch allegiance on grounds that they would be getting allocations now reserved only to government lawmakers?
Anwar should realise that providing the opposition MPs with the funding would do little to lawmakers from the other side in terms of political support in their respective constituency.
On the contrary, Anwar could come out smelling like a rose, pushing for a reform that had been spoken about for decades.
But as with many of his other electoral pledges, Anwar is letting this opportunity to burnish as his reformist image slips away.
And at the rate things are going, it’d be a decision he might live to regret when Anwar and his fellow PH MPs find themselves back on the opposition bench after the next general election, having less constituency development funds than those on the opposite side of the aisle. – July 10, 2024
