An innocent remark by the newly-minted Ijok state assemblyperson K Parthiban that each state BN state representative is entitled to a RM2 million annual development fund has elicited a round of sharp shocks and criticisms.

Parthiban revealed the state grant during an interview with malaysiakini last week.

This revelation however has caught the opposition snapping.

According to DAP Selangor secretary Lau Weng San, he was shocked to learn of such a "huge allocation" since it was the first time that the exact amount of the fund was made public.

"It means that the Selangor state government will have to fork out RM108 million in total just for constituency development funds alone," Lau said in a press statement today.

"RM108 million should be regarded as a huge amount for a state government. It is equally astonishing that not a single BN state assemblyperson has ever been accountable to the allocation by announcing how the allocation was spent for the past few years," he added.

There are 56 state seats in Selangor. Except for two seats that are held by opposition DAP in Sungai Pinang and Sekinchan - which do not get any money from the government - the rest are held by BN elected representatives.

The opposition has always cried foul over the double-standards and discrimination they are subjected to in the allocation of these funds.

On top of the amount doled out for the BN state assemblypersons - which varies state to state, each BN member of parliament also receive RM2 million allocation annually for the same purpose.

Make expenditure public

Lau charged that the huge allocation given to the Selangor BN representatives did not commensurate their performances.

He said that this was based on the fact that the state legislative assembly had only convened for five days last year and in 2005.

The last sitting earlier this year had only convened for one day, with just five oral questions answered.

This came on top of a more than RM30 million spent to renovate the state assembly hall in 2002, he added.

"If BN state representatives fail to play an effective role in the state legislative assembly to speak up for the people, which is their most basic and fundamental responsibility, then what excuse they could have to enjoy hundreds of million ringgit as 'constituency development fund'?" he asked.

He also challenged the 54 state BN assemblypersons to announce their expenditure on the RM2 million allocation.

DAP's Sungai Pinang state assemblyperson Teng Chang Khim, when contacted, said there was no way for the opposition to check their BN counterparts' expenditure since it was not listed in the state budget.

"We know of such allocation but the amount is different sometimes - usually it would be around RM300,000 but during election year it will shoot up to RM1 million," said Teng, whose 30-month suspension from the state assembly would end next month before sitting reconvenes later this year.

Meanwhile, DAP election strategist Liew Chin Tong told malaysiakini that local councillors - widely seen as political appointments by the ruling parties - are also benefiting from these development funds.

"The amount, again, varies in different local councils but we are quite certain that in the Petaling Jaya city council for instance, each of their councillor is given RM80,000 annually.

"This allocation is nothing but to help them to build political influence," claimed Liew.

Last year, on the eve of the Umno general assembly in November, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that an additional RM600 million has been approved to spearhead development in the rural areas.

Critics said that the funds were earmarked for Umno parliamentary consituencies across the country.