Several Barisan Nasional parliamentarians today expressed outrage over the Anti-Corruption Agency's (ACA) decision to launch a probe against them for making ' excessive ' claims on allowances.

Hoo Seong Chang (BN-Kluang) said the probe was initiated even before the Backbenchers Club could clear the confusion over the claims, which was released by the Prime Minister's Department in Parliament last week.

"I hope the Backbenchers Club can issue a clarification on this," he said when met at the Parliament lobby.

Hoo was referring to the question raised by Othman Abdul (BN-Pendang), following which the Prime Minister's Department released the names of 14 'big claimers' that included MPs from both sides of the political fence.

News reports today quoted ACA director-general Nordin Ismail as saying that the agency has examined the matter and will be interviewing the parliamentarians soon.

'Unfair' probe

Kong Cho Ha (BN-Lumut), who is one of the 14 big 'claimers', described the ACA investigation as "unfair".

"Media reports (on the issue) have led the people to be suspicious of me and the other 13. They don't understand how the procedure works. It is unfair and inappropriate," he added.

Another big 'claimer', MP Robert Lau Hoi Chew, decried that he had only claimed more than RM10,000 once in more than a decade as a parliamentarian.

"I don't feel good about it. Fourteen years I have been an MP, and only once I claimed more than RM10,000. Now the ACA is going to investigate me," he told malaysiakini .

The 'biggest claimer' Mohd Apandi Mohamad (PAS-Jeli) said he has instructed his lawyer to initiate legal action against those who make statements that could be tantamount to defaming him.

He stressed that all his claims complied with the regulations under the1980 Members of Parliament Act (Allowances) and that he had submitted the relevant documents while making those claims.

He said the claims have to go through four persons - the financial clerk, chief clerk, accountant and finally the Parliament secretary.

He said the process took about 60 days before an approval was given.

Mohd Apandi, whose total claims for last year exceeded RM132,000, said that the ACA probe was "politically motivated".

"Anyway, I'm not worried and will provide full cooperation," he said.

Ceiling rate

In a related development, Backbenchers Club chairperson Mohd Zin Mohamed told a press conference that ACA has the right to launch a probe but the agency should reveal its findings as the matter was of public concern.

"(However) I have spoken to some Sabah and Sarawak MPs - the majority of whom stay quite far away from the city - and I understand that claims of more than RM10,000 is nothing unusual during the meeting season," he said.

At another press conference on the same matter, DAP secretary-general and Kota Melaka MP Kerk Kim Hock said the issue should be studied by the Dewan Rakyat's Privileges Committee and not the ACA.

"The committee should determine whether the claims only involved meeting season or non-meeting season.

"Since we have the Privileges Committee, the ACA should not just come in and investigate like this," he added.

Kerk also called on the committee to set a ceiling rate for claims.

However, Dewan Rakyat speaker Dr Mohamed Zahir Ismail said the Privileges Committee could not investigate the matter since all the claims were approved by the Parliament secretary.

He said the committee could only discuss disciplinary cases.

Of the 14 parliamentarians who made it to the 'biggest claimers' list, seven are from BN, four from PAS, two from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) and one from DAP.