Fadillah No Mps Met Me On Opposition Funding Other Than Syed Saddiq

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Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof has revealed that no other opposition lawmakers, except for Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, have come forward to discuss financial allocations for their constituencies.
This came after the Muda parliamentarian complained last week that despite undergoing five rounds of negotiations, there had been no progress on the issue.
Fadillah, who chairs the government consultative council managing such discussions, explained that Syed Saddiq’s proposals do not represent the opposition as a whole.
"In terms of allocations, previously the opposition said they did not want to negotiate, they did not agree with the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on allocations for opposition MPs.
"That is why I said there were no negotiations. The only one was Syed Saddiq. I did receive his proposals, but no one else," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today after being asked for an update on the matter.
In September last year, Perikatan Nasional leaders rejected Putrajaya’s draft agreement on constituency allocations for opposition MPs.
In the November Dewan Rakyat session, Fadillah expressed his openness to discuss the allocation with opposition lawmakers.
At the time, he said Syed Saddiq was the only opposition representative who had provided feedback on the memorandum of understanding, with the minister assuring that he would respond soon.
Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul RahmanOn Feb 18, the former youth and sports minister lamented in the Dewan Rakyat that he had to raise funds for his constituents since the allocation issue had not been resolved.
"Letter after letter has been sent. More than 400 days have passed, but government aid to the Muar parliamentary constituency remains at zero ringgit.
"I've tried (negotiating) many times, but I haven't succeeded. That's why I ran from Muar to Parliament. Recently, I even became a model - some MPs were angry at me for doing so, (but) I had no choice,” Syed Saddiq said, adding that RM1 million was raised.
When asked for an update on the negotiations, opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin told reporters on Feb 20 that Perikatan Nasional has not been invited to such talks.
“That’s a good question, but how can I give an update when nothing has been done or when we haven’t even been invited to discuss the matter?” New Straits Times quoted him as saying.
Muar MP’s proposal under careful review
Fadillah said today that Syed Saddiq’s proposals were in the process of being finalised.
"As a government, we have to reach a consensus, which means we need approval from all parties. I have to carefully review all proposals because Syed Saddiq submitted many suggestions.
"He wants to represent the opposition, but he only represents himself because the opposition already has a leader of the opposition.
“So, we need to look at the bigger picture," he added.
Opposition leader Hamzah ZainudinThe deputy prime minister reiterated his call for opposition MPs to send their proposals.
"If there is anything to discuss, we have to look at it as a whole. If there are proposals, submit them to me.
"We will form a committee to sit down and discuss. Anyone can make suggestions," Fadillah added. - Mkini

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