“A reminder was issued by the prime minister,” Fahmi told reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting here today.

Fahmi was asked to comment on calls by NGOs, namely electoral reform group Bersih and Engage, for guidelines to be drawn up to prevent abuse of government resources.

The calls were made in response to an announcement by housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming in Nibong Tebal yesterday that RM18 million had been allocated for various projects in Seberang Perai Selatan, Penang, under the Sentuhan Kasih programme.

Nga’s announcement comes ahead of the Sungai Bakap by-election, which will be held on July 6. He has since denied that the allocation had anything to do with the by-election.

Fahmi said the Cabinet did not discuss the proposal for guidelines at today’s meeting.

Last night, Engage chairman Thomas Fann called for guidelines for parties in government to deal with announcements of allocations when an election is imminent.

Fann said the guidelines should be drawn up by the Election Commission, the Public Services Commission, and the parliamentary special select committee on human rights, election and institutional reform.

“This is to avoid any potential abuse of state resources during elections,” he told FMT.

Earlier today, Bersih said Nga’s announcement and Anwar’s contributions worth RM290,000 to nine mosques and 20 suraus in Sungai Bakap emphasised the need for comprehensive guidelines related to the ethics of non-caretaker and caretaker governments during election periods.