“This practice makes the MPs and assemblymen feudal lords, and the people who elected them ironically have to ‘kowtow’ to them for money and development,” said Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, a two-term MP for Sungai Siput.
He suggested that representatives instead be given allocations to maintain their service centres and to give out immediate financial assistance in the event of emergencies.
“But allocations for development should be channelled to the district offices and used based on the needs of the people in the respective state and parliamentary seats,” he told FMT.
Jeyakumar was responding to reports that the Selangor government had withheld Covid-19 aid allocations from opposition assembly members and that the funds would instead be handled by coordinators.
Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said it was “normal practice” to channel allocations for opposition-held seats to coordinators or other persons of trust.
Jeyakumar, who is also Parti Sosialis Malaysia national chairman, said the job of representatives was to debate on policies and ensure the government implemented proposals for the benefit of the people, irrespective of who the voters support.
“The current practice is tailored to make and keep the representatives popular among gullible voters. It also widens the gulf between the elected and the electors,” he said.
“Financial allocations for development and other needs are from taxpayers and not from the ruling government. As such, the distribution should be equal.”
Jeyakumar also said that opposition MPs or assemblymen who were unhappy at such discrimination could turn to the courts for justice.
“They could attempt to revisit a 2013 Federal Court ruling that I lost, but I would caution anyone to do their homework before filing a suit,” he added.
He said they must first apply for allocations and follow the paper trail of the money intended for that constituency.
Jeyakumar, who was elected as MP in 2008, filed a judicial review proceeding in 2010 to challenge the decision of the Perak Development Office director’s rejection of his application for funds for SMJK Shin Chung, SJK Methodist and Nurul Ihsan Orphanage, as well as funds for small projects to benefit Orang Asli villagers.
He also wanted a declaration that, in accordance with Article 8 (1) of the Federal Constitution, the special constituency allocations be provided to all MPs equally regardless of political affiliation.
Then-chief justice Raus Sharif said the court did not possess knowledge of the policy considerations behind the decisions made by the Perak and federal governments.