He wants the court to restore the funds owed last year and what is needed this year.
He named the prime minister and the government as respondents in his suit.
In an affidavit filed with the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, he alleged that the funds were held back as soon as he withdrew support for the unity government last September.
Syed Saddiq said the decision to hold back the funds was unfair, against the law, and violated the rights of the people in Muar, especially when constituencies aligned with the government received funds.
He said RM3.2 million was already disbursed to his constituency when he was in the government bloc until Sept 10, 2023.
As a government MP, he was allocated RM4 million a year, he said. Of the amount, RM300,000 was an outright grant to run his parliamentary service centre, RM1.7 million for welfare, well-being and disaster relief purposes, and RM2 million for people-friendly projects which are to be applied through a unit in the Prime Minister’s Department.
He said the withholding of funds, which would be used for the development of the constituency and well-being of the people, was a way to punish voters in Muar.
“The country’s democratic system and separation of powers are at stake when the executive and respondents use MPs’ funds as a bargaining chip to obtain support from the opposition. This is clear when five MPs pledged their support for the prime minister or the unity government,” he said in his application.
He said the five MPs got their allocations immediately after backing the government. He named the five as Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman; Jeli MP Zahari Kechik; Gua Musang MP Azizi Abu Naim; Kuala Kangsar MP Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid, and Tanjong Karang MP Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi.
In his suit, Syed Saddiq seeks an annulment of the decision to withhold the funds, and to disburse the withheld RM500,000 and the additional RM230,300 for approved projects.
The RM500,000 in funds were to be used for community welfare projects, while RM230,300 was for projects that were initially approved but later cancelled; for initiatives like a resource centre for a school and carpets for suraus.
Syed Saddiq sought an order for the government to restore his access to the MP funding system, and to restore allocations to Muar as with government-backed constituencies.
Checks show the case would be brought for an e-review by the High Court on Monday. The case was filed by the legal firm of Messrs Lim Wei Jiet.