Takiyuddin: Seven conditions imposed on PN in exchange for MP funding

The government has laid out seven conditions for Perikatan Nasional to agree to in exchange for financial allocation for its MPs, according to its chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan.

Among the clauses include matters pertaining to speech that touch on 3R (religion, race and royalty), and obligating all PN MPs to declare their assets to the government.

They also would need to agree to support the government until the end of this term, he said.

Takiyuddin said the party was puzzled why the government wanted to impose some of the conditions as part of their memorandum of understanding (MOU), and what they had to do with allocating funding to the opposition MPs.

“It is quite bizarre to us because this MOU is supposedly for channelling the compulsory funding to the opposition (MPs).

“Even though we are in the opposition, we are still MPs. Previously (when we were in power) we also allocated funding to all MPs.

“But here in this document, they mentioned seven principles on kehidupan awam (public life), hate speech, and sedition on the issues of race, religion and royalty.

“They have included 3R inside this memorandum for funding,” he told a press conference in Bangi this morning.

Response by month-end

On top of the conditions set for PN, Takiyuddin said a draft of the memorandum he received from Putrajaya last month also stipulated several obligations on the government's part.

However, it did not mention how much funding the government plans to give the opposition MPs, he added.

“What we don’t understand is why they want MPs who are not part of the administration to declare their assets.

“Previous prime ministers only required assets declaration from members of the administration like ministers, deputy prime ministers, and deputy ministers.”

According to Takiyuddin, he received the draft memorandum from Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof’s office on Aug 6, but PN had yet to deliberate on the matter as they were in the midst of the Nenggiri by-election in Kelantan then.

The opposition coalition will hold a meeting to discuss the conditions soon, he added, and they expect to come up with a decision and submit their response to Putrajaya before the end of this month.

“We haven’t decided whether we can accept this memorandum or otherwise.

“What has the allocation for MPs got to do with supporting the government until the end of this term?” the Kota Bharu MP said.

On Aug 20, Takiyuddin was reported to have said they had received the draft MOU and would discuss it soon.

Takiyuddin previously said the draft needed to be presented to PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin and other leaders for a decision.

On July 9, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stated that the issue of fund allocation to opposition MPs should not be a complicated matter to resolve.

He said the conditions for any opposition MP seeking to obtain allocations are basic requirements and standard procedures in any negotiation and democratic practice.

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