Sarawak government should consider allocating grants to constituencies held by the opposition as a good gesture in serving the people equally, said Datuk Idris Buang (GPS-Muara Tuang).
This was in response to issues brought up by Violet Yong (DAP-Pending) during the debate on the Head of State’s speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) yesterday.
Idris who talked about the matter to reporters after the debate noted that opposing constituents are Sarawakians too. Therefore, they should not be sidelined in terms of development.
“Let us put aside our political differences and put the people first. It is fair for such allocations to be channeled to opposition constituencies,” he said.
He suggested that each constituency should be given an allocation which is lower compared to those constituencies under the governing coalition.
“Within the range of RM300,000 to RM500,000 annually is an acceptable amount,” he said.
He thought that the money could be used for improving and providing better public facilitates. However, this matter is the prerogative of the chief minister.
During the debate Yong complained that elected representatives on the opposition side are deprived of financial allocations although the government had announced in the media recently that some funds would be given to opposition lawmakers.
She argued that it is only right for state elected representatives to be given allocations as practised by the federal government.
