Perikatan Nasional (PN) chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan has expressed his concern over the constituency allocations for MPs which may be reduced by 65 percent this year.
He noted that while the government was taking steps to control its finances, he was adamant that allocations should be left alone as it was for the benefit of the people.
“Allocations channelled through MPs provide direct benefits to the people, (they) should not be disturbed,” he said in a statement today.
The Kota Bharu MP said these allocations are channelled through the MPs’ service centres in their constituencies through the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU).
How sadly predictable that this professed lawyer and ‘religious’ party representative should put himself at the forefront of defending this degenerate ‘money politics’ practice of allowing MPs to buy local support at the expense of the public purse.
It is one thing for an MP to receive an allowance to run an office where constituents can seek advice and bring their issues.
However, to stuff his safe with a stash of cash for him to hand out as he pleases, acting as the powerful Datuk Bountiful to buy gratitude and obedience is quite another matter.
This is not his money, which is how far too many MPs have acted, it is public money. There are public rules governing how taxpayers’ money should be spent and who is eligible for state support.
These do not include feathering the nests of those an MP needs to keep sweet to win the next election, which is exactly where these funds are in danger of actually ending up.
If an MP finds there are people in need and who are eligible for public support amongst his constituents, then he ought to advise them which public services they should be applying to, so they can be processed correctly.
Arbitrary handouts are not the solution and recipients should understand they are being aided by the community and policies of the government, not their MP personally.
Indeed, how can a blanket allowance to MPs be fair or proper when certain areas contain far more need than others? This is compounded by the outrageous practice which penalises opposition MPs – and therefore those who voted for the opposition – by allowing them less than pro-government MPs?
This system is pernicious and corrupt as any observer can plainly see, certainly one qualified in the law!
The government is therefore quite right to slash the MPs’ budget so money can go through the appropriate channels to help Malaysians receive grants for which they are eligible, not as ‘charity’ from their MP but as a matter of right.