Enact law to ensure equal allocation for all constituencies irrespective of political leaning, Bersih tells Putrajaya
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) has today urged the federal government to draft and introduce legislation to ensure equal allocation for all lawmakers, including those from the Opposition.
Bersih said allocations should not be given based on the discretion of the prime minister or chief ministers, but instead be enacted as a law to ensure equitable constituency allocations to all lawmakers irrespective of their political leanings.
“Equal allocation must be made a priority item in institutional and political reform efforts while bridging the widening gap between government and Opposition all this while.
“The providing of unequal and equitable constituent development allocations for all elected representatives is a punishment to the people for electing representatives not part of the government,” it said in a statement.
The group also reminded Pakatan Harapan — who currently holds the largest bloc in the government — that equal allocation is one of the promises in its general election manifesto.
It also described the “side-lining of Opposition MPs” as an archaic authoritarian mentality and legacy of the previous Barisan Nasional administration which should be discontinued under the new reformist government.
“Constituent development allocation is the people’s right and is thus an effective mechanism to help them resolve their issues immediately.
“The equal allocation for constituent development is an important reform to guarantee political stability so no party may use it as an excuse to change the government mid-term,” it added.
Lastly, Bersih said the federal government should follow in the footsteps of the Perak government, which announced last month that it would continue to provide allocation for all 59 members of the state assembly and its Speaker, as well as an equal allocation for all their service centres.
