Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil or BERSIH agrees with the call by member of the Arau DPRD, YB Datuk Seri Shahidan Kasim, and member of the Jerantut DPRD YB Khairil Nizam, who asked the government to allocate funds for the development of constituency to members of the opposition parliament. BERSIH also reminded that the fair allocation of constituency development fund was one of the points in the manifesto of the Pakatan Harapan Bid Book for the 15th General Election in 2022. Pakatan Harapan is the coalition that brought Anwar Ibrahim to the seat of prime minister of Malaysia.
According to the Chairman of BERSIH 2.0, Thomas Fann, a fair allocation of constituency development fund is an urgent agenda in efforts to reform the political system and institutions. A fair allocation of funds would bridge the long-standing gap between the government and the opposition.
"The allocation of equitable distribution of constituency development fund is an important reform to ensure political stability so that no political party will use this as an excuse to change the government in the middle of their term of office," said Thomas, to electionhouse.org (1/4).
BERSIH urges the leader of the opposition, YB Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, to discuss with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim regarding the importance of a coordinated constituency development fund allocation law at both the federal and state levels, as well as other necessary reforms to balance the power of the government and the opposition.
“The Federal Government should follow the example of the Perak State Government under the leadership of Chief Minister YAB Saarani Mohamad who announced an equal allocation of funds for the 59 members of the Perak Assembly as a percentage of the 2023 Perak State Budget on 22 December. BERSIH urges the state of Perak to take the next step by making a law, so that this policy will not be changed by the government in the future," said Thomas.
BERSIH collects the promise of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim who often portrays himself as a reformer. The unfair allocation of constituency development fund is an important thing to change.
“Ignoring opposition representatives is an ancient authoritarian mentality inherited from Barisan Nasional that should not be maintained for even one more day. This should not be continued by the Unity Kingdom which is ruling now and presenting itself as a reformer," concluded Thomas. []
This article is translated by Catherine Natalia.
