Parti Dayak president says cuts to MPs’ funds will affect Sarawakians in rural areas, urges PM to reconsider
KUCHING, Feb 7 — Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) president Bobby William today appealed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim not to reduce the development allocation for MPs in his aim to better manage the country’s finances.
He said it will be a great disadvantage to Sarawak where the rural communities, to a certain extent, depend on the allocations from the MPs for minor projects, such as village roads, community halls, water supply and for welfare assistance.
“Even then the RM3.8 million allocated to each MP in the past is not enough as many rural constituencies in Sarawak that are bigger than some states in Peninsular Malaysia, including Hulu Rajang which is as big as Pahang, are in need of funds from the government,” Bobby said.
He was responding to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recent statement that the development allowance for MPs has been reduced to RM1.3 million from RM3.8 million to better control the country’s finances and would be implemented in stages.
Bobby said there is no doubt the prime minister’s decision to cut down on allocations is taken as an austerity measure for the nation’s finances, but it will be disadvantageous for the rakyat of Sarawak, especially in the rural areas which are largely underdeveloped and without basic infrastructure and facilities.
“Instead of cutting the allocations for MPs, the federal government should look for other means to increase the country’s coffers such as recovering money that was siphoned off by politicians while they were in power,” he added.
He said the rakyat should not be made to pay for the crimes and the plundering by politicians that have caused the country to the point of going bankrupt.
He said PBDS suggests that the property of the corrupt politicians gained through illegal and dubious means should be sold off by the government to recover monies belonging to the rakyat.
“Anwar should be bold enough to hold such corrupt politicians accountable for their crimes and punish them to the maximum as permissible by the law,” Bobby said.
