I welcome Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s announcement that all Members of Parliament will receive allocations for their constituencies before the Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2018.
As noted by media reports, each Government MPs will receive RM500,000 with an additional RM200,000 for their service centers, while each Opposition MP will receive RM100,000.
The decision to give allocations to Opposition MPs is a positive development and follows the earlier precedent set by Pakatan Harapan in its government of the Selangor and Penang states. They also accord special privileges to the Leader of the Opposition in their State Assemblies.
Moving forward, I hope that when the country’s finances have stabilised, equal allocations can be given to all MPs.
Whatever the case, all MPs must see to it that they use their allocations prudently and honestly—for the benefit of their rakyat.
Moreover, Parliament should make it a priority to deliberate upon and pass reforms to political funding as pledged by Pakatan Harapan prior to the election. This should include laws to bring about transparency on and limits to private sector donations, as well as government funding for political parties.
We must not witness another episode of billions of ringgit funnelled to individual leaders accounts or hundreds of millions of ringgit being kept at their homes.
Measures like these will help to combat corruption and conflicts of interest.
I will work together with my colleagues in Parliament to ensure that we can get a start on these matters as soon as possible.
NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD
PAKATAN HARAPAN YOUTH LEADER
PARTI KEADILAN RAKYAT YOUTH LEADER
