KUCHING: The reduction in the parliamentarian’s development allowance will encourage in-depth surveys to provide solutions to issues in each area.
The founder of the Independent Council of Natives (ICON) Bill Jugah, said such a measure prompts the members of Parliament (MPs) to appropriately effectuate actual financing that goes to targeted segments of society in their parliamentary district.
This, he said, could be done through engaging non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community leaders who are actively involved in delivering mitigation to problems plaguing their area.
“At the moment, I dare say that current ongoing projects being implemented are only seen by the public as a means to reward business tycoons who funded the political campaigning of these MPs,” he told the New Sarawak Tribune.
As such, Bill noted that Malaysia cannot afford to continue the self-damaging trend if it were to uphold the Malaysia Madani concept.
Bill, who is also a human rights activist, made such remarks when asked to comment on a media report that said annual development allocations for backbench MPs have been slashed this year by more than 65 per cent.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also confirmed that there had been a reduction in the MP’s development allowance from RM3.8 million to RM1.3 million.
However, Anwar said the government will consider channelling additional allocations if there are urgent needs in the parliamentary area, such as repairing the infrastructure.
In light of this, Bill stated that Anwar’s decision to enforce the budget reduction is based on upholding the idea of Malaysia Madani.
“Be a statesman, not merely a politician,” Bill asserted.
He further hopes to bring up such issues that affect the community not only in Sibu but also in Sarawak.
