Chan Foong Hin, who is Kota Kinabalu MP, said Warisan should understand that the allocations are for the benefit of the rakyat and not for the personal use of MPs.
“The MoU was not just for the funding, which in any case goes back to the rakyat. Nothing is spent on the elected representatives themselves.
“We give it all to the E-kasih recipients, B40 households, schools, mosques and temples, among other beneficiaries.
“Why should we deny these rights to the people in an opposition constituency?
“I hope Warisan leaders start understanding how the MoU works and how it is actually benefiting the people,” he said in a statement today.
Chan said if its leaders, such as vice-president Junz Wong, still claimed that PH was no longer an opposition coalition just for signing the MoU, then they were showing political immaturity by ignoring the obvious fact that the pact is working.
He reminded Warisan that among the terms of the MoU was the anti-hopping law, which he admitted would have received PH’s support anyway even without the MoU.
However, he said the government wouldn’t have given this much priority to the anti-hopping bill or placed it high on its agenda if not for the pact.
“Without the MoU, the anti-hopping law is a non-starter. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government would not even think of an anti-hopping law.
“Law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar’s recent statements showed how difficult it was to get the anti-hopping law tabled as there is much resistance even within the Cabinet,” he said.
On another matter, clarifying claims that DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng had met Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor secretly last October, Chan said the then party secretary-general had informed Warisan president Shafie Abdal before the meeting.
“After the meeting with Hajiji, Lim met up with Shafie to inform him what had transpired during the meeting. It was not a secret meeting as alleged by some Warisan leaders.”
Chan urged Warisan leaders to adopt a principle of mutual respect among opposition parties and “agree to disagree”.
He said it was Warisan that was being confrontational against DAP and PH by recruiting DAP members and also contesting against its candidates in the Johor elections.
“This only serves to split the opposition to the benefit of Barisan Nasional. Worse still, Warisan contributed RM30,000 to national coffers when all its six candidates lost their deposits in the polls,” he said.