Earlier today, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said the unity government had agreed in principle to “consider allocating funds” to opposition MPs, adding that Putrajaya will prepare a draft memorandum of understanding on the matter.
“PN will make a decision after thoroughly examining the terms of the draft MoU which the government is preparing,” said opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin in a brief statement.
Separately, PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin told FMT it remains to be seen whether PN and the unity government can reach an agreement.
“(The government has only) agreed to consider (providing allocations). It has not been agreed on yet,” he said.
“We don’t even know the contents of the MoU.”
On April 6, FMT reported that Hamzah, who is also the PN secretary-general, said he had received a draft agreement on constituency funds for opposition MPs from a representative of a “high-ranking individual”, but declined to reveal more details.
Fadillah has denied the existence of such a draft agreement.
Hamzah also previously pushed the government to present any proposed offer in “black and white”, saying the government under Ismail Sabri Yaakob used this same approach when signing an MoU with Pakatan Harapan in September 2021, during which equal allocation of funds for MPs was one of the items agreed upon.
Hamzah said PN is waiting for the government to present an official proposal regarding their allocation of RM3.8 million a year – the same amount government MPs receive.
On Saturday, Fadillah, who has been tasked with negotiating with the opposition on its demands for constituency funds, said the opposition had said that any conditions for granting allocations would be left to the government to determine.
Six Bersatu MPs previously said the lack of constituency funds was the main reason they decided to pledge support for the unity government.
They are Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjong Karang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar) and Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan).