PUTRAJAYA – Federal funds for constituencies under the opposition will not be channelled through MPs that have “insulted” the unity government, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
In his winding-up speech at the PKR annual congress, here today, Anwar, who is also party president, stressed that funds will instead go “to the people”.
“We channelled the funds straight to the people, not through their (respective) lawmakers. Why would we want to channel (the funds) through MPs that insult us everyday and attempt to topple us?” he said.
Anwar’s remark was greeted by rounds of cheers and applause from nearly 3,000 PKR delegates at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre where the congress was held.
When it came to development allocations, Anwar said the unity government had never shunned its commitment to ensure that constituencies receive their share, even those under PAS and Bersatu although they were not channelled through MPs.
After coming to power, Anwar earlier this year slashed constituency allocations for government MPs from over RM3 million to RM1.3 million, citing the need for prudence in spending.
Opposition MPs, however, have typically received far less in constituency allocations.
Anwar has said Perikatan Nasional MPs should negotiate with Putrajaya on receiving the allocations, but no formal talks have taken place to date.
In recent weeks, four Bersatu MPs declared their support for Anwar.
They were Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid, Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman, Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim and Jeli MP Zahari Kechik.
Suhaili earlier this month confirmed receiving the funds three days after declaring his support for Anwar. He and Iskandar have been suspended from Bersatu for six and four years, respectively.
Today, Azizi was reported saying by Utusan Malaysia that he had received the constituency allocation for Gua Musang, but that he did not know the amount as it was sent to the Kelantan Development Department under the Implementation Coordination Unit, which is under the Prime Minister’s Department.
Azizi also claimed that Zahari had similarly received his constituency allocation through the same agency.
Anwar today also denied accusations of him enticing Bersatu lawmakers to declare their support for him in exchange for constituency allocations.
“When they said they wanted to meet me, I told them to make a decision first (on supporting the unity government) before meeting me,” Anwar said without specifying which lawmaker he was referring to.
Last week, Anwar said that the four Bersatu MPs who stated their backing of his administration did so of their own accord after losing trust in their party leader, president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. – November 26, 2023