YOURSAY | Equal allocations? Surely, you joke

YOURSAY | 'Politicians have been using public funds to further their own agenda for ages.'

COMMENT | Stop the baloney, provide equal allocation to all elected reps

MS: I disagree with writer G Vinod for two reasons. Malaysia is not a flourishing democracy in the ordinary sense of the term - one in which justice and fair play reign supreme. It blatantly favours some over others - with the majority having more rights to fair representation than the minorities.

Gerrymandering to favour Malay-majority constituencies while disadvantaging non-Malay constituencies with opposition voters bundled into huge seats to limit their presence in Parliament is the norm.

But Schedule 13 of Malaysia’s Constitution specifically prohibits malapportionment and gerrymandering of electoral boundaries, making the frequent re-delineation exercises by ruling regimes in the past unconstitutional.

Next is a point brilliantly argued just a couple of days ago by Malaysiakini columnist S Thayaparan - that the theocratic forces now at the gates and headed by the likes of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin are using the same “infidelic Western rights” entrenched in a democracy to undermine the same when they seize power.

And when they do, contributors like Vinod will not have the right to complain about “restoring the democratic rights of all elected leaders and their voters”.

Put bluntly, this is now a war for the soul of the nation. Only the eminently foolish will ignore the scrawls on the wall and continue speaking about airy-fairy rights when the ground beneath them is shifting to devour them.

OceanMasterII: It is the role of the federal government, state government and local councils to ensure that precious funds - public money - are allocated for those who need it the most and urgent matters, based on feedback from the likes of the Economic Planning Unit.

Malaysia is not short of ministries and agencies, which, based on the same principles as above, can take care of respective constituents. Vinod also did not state or do any research as to why, what, and how much funds MPs need to address their constituents’ needs.

Generally speaking, what qualifications do MPs and state assemblypersons have to address such issues, ensure fair distribution of funds, run projects and programmes on their own and don't misuse the funds? Look at the legacy.

In Malaysia, the system has been “bastardised” and abused for decades. Politicians are using public funds to further their own agenda for ages. This must be stopped. Politicians must remember the budget allocated is public money and not theirs.

I am sure there is already sufficient budget allocated for each MP to look after sundry needs of their constituents but the big jobs such as speaking up in Parliament and using your influence to get things going need to be focused on. You are not required to be Mister Everything.

This goes to both ruling and opposition-elected representatives. It is therefore the role of the Pakatan Harapan-led unity government to correct this melancholic state of affairs and let the government agencies tighten up and deliver results. That is the change that is needed and not the good old ways that made the country go nearly bankrupt.

Kilimanjaro: Perhaps Vinod has to read Harapan’s manifesto a few more times. Contextually, it doesn’t deprive residents/voters of an opposition-held constituency of equal allocation. However, this will be channelled through the “Constituency Development Fund” that all MPs can use. This makes sense.

This does not deny any allocation to an opposition-held constituency. The government of the day may want its focus on economic development. PAS’ focus is more steeped towards race and religion. The priorities are different, and it will make sense not to hand over the money to such MPs.

Clever voter: It is right for equal allocation to be adopted but enforcement, like in other matters, is never done effectively. The question of monitoring is one but there is also bias even between urban and rural constituencies. The system is broken.

With overlapping roles and duplication of responsibilities, there is no easy answer. There are too many agencies competing for resources, with no one able to drive the change effectively and efficiently. Leaving it status quo is not helpful.

What is missing would be the leadership, integrity and governance to make sure resources are being used wisely and responsibly.

Coward: I agree there should be money allocated for every MP to use in his constituency to address local problems. However, I don’t think even mandating equal allocation will resolve the issue of unequal funding. It will be set at a low level and MPs from the ruling party will still have the ears of their fellow party members in government.

Moreover, how are we going to prevent abuse of these allocations to favour the MPs’ cronies? Yes, the problem exists with government MPs as well, but it does not mean we should ignore it.

Karnak: This is a no-brainer. Force equal allocations, make MPs work and not fundraise all the time. Let the people see that all constituencies have been provided funding by Parliament.

That way, the people can judge for themselves the quality of the administrations they have voted into office. If PAS does a good job, PKR, DAP and BN will have to raise their game. I’m all for this sort of competition because, ultimately, the rakyat benefits.  

Again, what irritates me is how Perikatan Nasional (PN) is winning the initiative here. The optics are pretty poor: the administration is being painted as unfair; it entrenches views in PN constituencies about “them vs us”; and if Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration does a U-turn, PN can crow about their effectiveness as an opposition “for the people”.

Come on, man. Get a grip on things.

LimeMoose1462: First, you need to understand what “allocation” means here. It’s not that all development in the parliamentary constituency must be done by the MP. This is an extra fund for minor needs.

There is no problem in giving but it must be made into law so that in the future it continues, not just during Harapan times. Terms of usage should also be in the law so that it is not used for funding negative projects.

Man on the Silver Mountain: Why should an MP get a personalised allocation in the first place? What are they going to do with it, as if the government establishments are not enough?

It is obviously for political purposes, which shouldn’t be allowed. It has become so common to see nowadays, especially in rural constituencies, that an MP or assemblyperson runs the district offices.

They stop pretending as if they were only recommending but actually giving instructions to the district officers. This should be stopped. It is just another form of money politics at the expense of taxpayers’ money.

Money should not fall into the hands of politicians. There is nothing good that can come out of it, simply because there are no ways of controlling how an MP spends it.

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