Bersatu Mp S Move To Support Pm Could Be Linked To Getting Allocations From Govt Says Perak Mb

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Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad believes that the move by Bersatu's Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid to declare his support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim could be linked to getting allocations from the government. NSTP/ L.MANIMARANIPOH: Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad believes that the move by Bersatu's Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid to declare his support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim could be linked to getting allocations from the government.
"This must be referred to anti-party hopping law, what is the consequence of such an announcement, I am not so sure what the consequences are.
"He should refer to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to enable him...whether to be seated with the government or the opposition. The speaker is the right person to determine his status.
"Maybe he wants to ask for allocation from the prime minister," Saarani, who is the Perak Barisan Nasional chairman said this in a press conference after attending the Mesra Customer Engagement Programme at Stadium Indera Mulia here, today.
Saarani also noted that Iskandar Dzulkarnain could still fulfil the two-thirds majority for the unity government if he decided to support the prime minister without quitting Bersatu.
Currently, the unity government, which was formed through the cooperation of 14 political parties, has 147 members of Parliament out of 222 parliamentary seats, which is one less seat to become a two-thirds majority (148 seats).
Earlier, Iskandar Dzulkarnain issued a statement to an English daily , declaring his support for Anwar but remaining loyal to his party.
He said the move was to ease the burden faced by his constituents over the rising cost of living and he wanted to see if Anwar would uphold his pledge regarding allocations for lawmakers.
According to the report, Iskandar Dzulkarnain claimed that Anwar had said the allocation would be channelled to lawmakers supporting the unity government's policies.
Iskandar Dzulkarnian won the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election.
It was reported on Sept 19 that the prime minister has made it unequivocally clear that he would not authorise budget allocations for members of Parliament from the opposition unless negotiations are conducted with the federal administration.
Speaking in Dewan Rakyat, Anwar said Perikatan Nasional (PN) MPs must emulate Pakatan Harapan's (PH) strong spirit when negotiating with former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob when the coalition was in the opposition bloc.
Anwar also revealed that a series of negotiations had been done with Ismail Sabri in September 2021, which resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide equal allocation distribution for all MPs in both blocs. - NST

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