KUALA LUMPUR – All parliamentarians should receive equal constituency development funds (CDF) regardless of their political affiliation, said the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) and Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas).
The electoral watchdog and the think tank both urged in a joint statement for the matter to be discussed during the special parliamentary sitting tomorrow.
They argued that by allocating the same amount of CDFs in the next round of disbursements, lawmakers from both sides of the divide can handle development issues and natural disasters more efficiently.
Both said that disasters could befall anyone, regardless of race or who they vote for, and that the recent floods had showcased how these funds could have been used by all the MPs to address and improve the situation.
“The floods that have plagued Malaysia for the past 1.5 months present a strong case for why all MPs, regardless of political affiliation, should get these funds to address the floods and post-floods situation, the coordination of aid to victims, and the long-term planning of flood disaster management in their constituencies.
“Our research has shown that political affiliation must not be taken into account when disbursing CDFs as it is not only unjust, but further reinforces incumbency advantage and creates room for patronage.
“The recent floods that destroyed many households call for a need to distribute CDFs equitably, and more importantly, for disbursements to be made transparent and accountable to prevent mismanagement of funds,” said the statement.
They also highlighted vast differences in CDF distribution for different MPs.
Both claimed that under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri’s government, opposition MPs under Pakatan Harapan were given about RM500,000 while MPs supporting the government were given something to the tune of RM3.8 million.
They noted that on the other hand, MPs who did not sign the memorandum of understanding have been given nothing so far.
Both said that this disparity goes against Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Datuk Mastura Mohd Yazid’s promise that all MPs will receive equal CDFs despite being on different political sides.
They said that transparency is important and that all MPs should be upfront about the amounts they receive and how the money is being used.
Furthermore, both urged for a CDF law to establish the recommendations they had proposed in the statement.
“We also call for the legislation of a CDF law to institutionalise the above recommendations and ensure that all CDFs in the future will be distributed fairly and transparently, and to minimise room for abuse with explicit reporting procedures for accountability,” they said. – The Vibes, January 19, 2022
