Ooohs! and Ahhhhs! echoed through the Dewan Rakyat today when it was revealed that a PAS MP was the 'biggest spender' in the House by regularly making claims that exceeded RM10,000 a month.

Parliamentary secretary in the Prime Minister's Department Noh Omar said Apandi Mohamad (PAS-Jeli) regularly topped the list for monthly claims last year surpassing his closest rival by thousands of ringgit.

"Throughout 2002, Apandi made more monthly claims, ten months out of eleven, than any other member of Parliament," he said, drawing murmurs of astonishment from the parliamentarians.

Noh was responding to Othman Abdul's (BN-Pendang) request that the prime minister identify the MPs who filed claims exceeding RM10,000 a month and the exact amount filed.

According to Noh, 14 MPs had filed claims exceeding RM10,000 a month for last year. Six were from Barisan Nasional, five from PAS and three from Parti Rakyat Keadilan and DAP.

He said Apandi's claim was below RM10,000 only once throughout last year and this was in the month of October.

For that month, Goh Kheng Huat (DAP-Nibong Tebal) took pole position by filing in claims amounting to RM13,414.05.

Lodging, transport costs

Based on Noh's records, Apandi's claims which totalled RM132,000 was incurred from meeting and daily allowances, lodging expenses and transport costs.

The total exceeded the next 'big claimer' Jawah Anak Gerang (BN-Lubok Antu) by more than RM85,000.

Noh said the PAS MP's claims was more than 40 percent of the total sum of reimbursements paid out to all the parliamentarians last year, which came to RM325,800.67.

It was also revealed that for the first half of this year, Apandi's claims amounted to RM78,356.96 and this exceeded the combined claims of all the parliamentarians by about RM8,000.

Responding to this, Apandi asked Noh if he was entitled to make the claims and the former confirmed that he could.

At this juncture, Othman drew laughter when he asked why Apandi had to spend so much when both his wives resided in Kuala Lumpur.

Official commitments

When met later, Apandi defended his expenses, saying he had numerous official commitments that required frequent travel.

"When people invite you (for an official meeting), you have to go... I have more than 20 meetings a month.

"According to the parliamentary statutes, if your meeting is more than 32km from your residence, you are entitled to claim lodging allowance of RM230 per night," he said.

Apandi said since he was heading five Kelantan state executive committees in addition to the state development council, it was incumbent on him to travel extensively.

"From Kota Bharu to Jeli is already 150 km. What more when I have to travel from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur, the distance of which is more than 600 km," he said.

The PAS MP also asked reporters to find out how much his counterparts in BN who held governmental positions spend on their official duties.

Speaking at a press conference later, Noh said the government will review the payment system and if discrepancies were found, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) will be asked to probe the matter.