The group said Anwar, who is PH chairman, had missed a great opportunity by not announcing the move in the 2023 budget.

Bersih said it was high time that opposition MPs were given equal constituency allocations, regardless of their political alliances.

The 148 government MPs receive RM1.3 million a year each for constituency development, an amount that is many times higher than the allocation for opposition MPs. The MPs are free to use the funds as they see fit, including paying the expenses of running their service centres.

Bersih said the government and the opposition should sit down to negotiate a law to ensure MPs are provided equal amounts of constituency funds.

Bersih said opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin should table a private member’s bill if the prime minister refuses to make the first move on equal funding for MPs.

“Perikatan Nasional perpetuated this undemocratic practice from March 2020 to August 2021 and has a moral obligation to prove that it is now committed to fairness,” Bersih said.

Bait al-Amanah research director Benedict Weerasena said equal funding would prevent the abuse of constituency funds as a tool to garner political support.

He said it was important for Anwar’s reform-oriented government to ensure that all MPs are provided equal constituency funds.