Hulu Langat Mp Says Shahidan Fishing For Funds Under Budget 2023

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Hulu Langat MP Sany Hamzan has dismissed Arau MP Shahidan Kassim’s comments on the government’s “unfair move” to supposedly deny funding for opposition MPs, pointing out that no such decision has been made so far.
“I would like to ask Shahidan (above), when did the government make a decision on the matter?
“Even the recently passed budget was only a portion of the allocation so that civil servants can be paid their salaries,” said Sany in a statement today.
“It has only been slightly more than a month since this government was formed and it has yet to make any decisions on the matter (funding for opposition MPs).
“Therefore, I view Shahidan’s statement as a ‘fishing attempt’, to pressure the government to approve equal allocation for opposition MPs under the Budget 2023 to be re-tabled,” said the former Amanah Youth chief.
Sany also alleged that Shahidan had an ulterior motive in accusing the government of being unfair towards opposition MPs.
The renewed call for equal allocations for all MPs triggered mixed views from government and opposition MPs, including on whether such funds can be abused for political mileage.
Harapan’s manifesto for the 15th general election did not pledge equal allocation to all MPs but instead pledged to establish a “Constituency Development Fund (CDF)” that can be used by all MPs.
Under the Dr Mahathir Mohamad administration, government MPs in Peninsular Malaysia were allocated RM3 million in 2020, while their East Malaysia counterparts could access RM3.5 million.
The present administration has yet to reveal what sort of funding will be made available for the 148 MPs on the government bench. - Mkini

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