DAP has charged in the Malacca state assembly the excessive amount of public funds spent by the Malacca state government for the personal use of the chief minister, state assemblypersons and other officials.

Betty Chew (DAP - Kota Laksamana) raised eyebrows when she questioned the accountability of the state government's action in her debate in the assembly on Thursday.

"The state should have accountable provisions to stop the misuse and embezzlement of public funds for personal use and for land allocations," she said.

She cited examples from the 2001 house accounts where state assembly representatives from Malacca's Bandar Hilir, Durian Daun and Tengkera districts were each given RM50,000, which she alleged were for personal gratification.

Chew also claimed that the state assemblyperson from Duyong was also granted RM150,000 as an annual constituency allowance.

"There was irresponsible spending when the Tengkera rep spent more than 50 percent of the yearly allocation, amounting to RM26,400, on trips and hosted a dinner party costing RM6,000," she told the House.

The Bandar Hilir and Duyong elected reps are said to have exhausted RM6,160 and RM5,600 respectively on lounge suits (RM560 a piece) for the state's weight-lifting team. Both also spent between RM1000 to RM2,200 each of tax-payers money on a handful of Hari Raya hampers.

She added that the Duyong assemblyperson used up RM37,000 on a holiday in Sarawak and in 2000, burnt RM1,770 on cellular telephone sets for his office.

"This is a clear misuse of public funds. The people do not benefit from it and are short-changed by their representatives," Chew charged.

Allowances claimed for nothing

Contacted today, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng highlighted parts of Chew's speech which revealed further misuse of community funds.

"There have been cases of assemblypersons conducting press conferences at home but yet claimed allowances for it. What is it used for?" Lim queried.

Chew had earlier also highlighted high travel claims among state government reps.

"Millions of ringgit were spent on allowances and claims from the chief minister, exco members, assemblypersons and their political and personal secretaries. Allowances for clothing, travel, vehicle service and repairs alone amounted to over RM1.2 million in 2001 and 2002," said Chew.

"This money can be used more wisely, such as to help the needy. The reps should aspire to achieve Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's objective for a clean, corrupt-free and accountable government".

The Malacca state government has been plagued by allegations of misappropriation of public funds in recent times. A recent junket involving the chief minister, state reps and their families raised questions as to how public monies were being spent.

Chew also raised in the House the issue of reps using public funds for elaborate festive celebrations .

"While the opposition receives nothing during festive seasons, Barisan Nasional reps get RM5,000 each for festive season travel allowance. Beyond that, the House speaker and exco members receive RM10,000 each," she claimed.

The opposition submitted that the RM250,000 yearly festive season expenditure is a waste of tax-payers' money for BN reps to spend on their 'open house' celebrations.

She found it peculiar that opposition assemblypersons do not receive a single cent and has to use their own resources to conduct similar open-house festivities for the public.

Dubious projects

Meanwhile, a delayed business complex project, valued at RM10.2 million and spearheaded by the Malacca Islamic Council (Maim), also raised the ire of the opposition party.

The Bukit Baru 'Newhill' commercial project was due to be completed this month. However, the state had said that only 35 percent of the job was done as of June last year and the latest inspection showed that the project is far from over.

"The project is also suspicious as there was no open tender for it. Furthermore, the involvement of Maim's former deputy chairperson - who was convicted of a breach of trust and sentenced to jail for a day and fined RM1,500 in 1995 - in the project leaves much to be desired."

"Is Malacca sorely missing qualified individuals that a person with a criminal record has to be appointed as (project) officer?", bemoaned Chew.

Last week, the DAP unveiled irregularities in an open-air eatery project which saw the state spending money on outrageously over-priced items and had a state councillor who owns a kiosk but failed to pay his rent for a lengthy period.