PN wants new MOU, current draft ‘completely unacceptable’

New terms are needed if Perikatan Nasional is to participate in hammering out a deal for opposition constituency development funds as the current ones are “completely unacceptable”, said chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan.

According to reports by Berita Harian, Takiyuddin also claimed the terms of the government’s draft memorandum of understanding on the matter were written without any input from PN.

“If discussions are based on the current MOU, we feel there is no room for us to contribute any alternative or discussion.

“That’s because everything contained in the draft MOU is unacceptable unless discussions are held to draft a new MOU with negotiations from both sides.

“A committee should be established first - before both sides discuss the MOU - on what is needed and what is not,” he was quoted as saying during a press conference in Kota Bharu today.

The MOU lays down a set of conditions that MP from PN must accept in exchange for being given access to certain parliamentary services, particularly allocations equal to those granted to government MPs.

On Sept 15, PN announced its decision to reject those terms.

Unilateral MOU

Takiyuddin claimed the government had written the MOU unilaterally without any discussion with PN.

“This should happen because, in terms of legal practice, both sides who wish to enter an MOU or agreement would have to discuss it first and the MOU is created from those discussions.

“What has happened instead is there are no discussions at all between the government and PN, even though the prime minister previously asked for discussions to be held between PN and the government, specifically Deputy Prime Minister II Fadillah Yusof.

“I myself have been tasked three times to meet Fadillah but still, there were no discussion before PN received the draft MOU on Aug 6,” he said.

Takiyuddin also reportedly told the media in Kota Bharu the PN won’t be writing back to Fadillah to inform the coalition’s decision to reject the MOU.

“They sent the MOU to us without considering our views. So, we don’t need to send a formal letter, it’ll suffice for us to tell Malaysians that we reject the MOU.”

Unanimous rejection

Previously, opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin listed four reasons for rejecting the MOU, the first of which is the concern that the agreement might compromise the rights and privileges of Malays and bumiputera as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

He also claimed the terms of the MOU are “contrary to traditional, cultural, moral, religious, and local values”; could be misinterpreted and lead to an abuse of power; and that the MOU restricts MPs’ parliamentary privileges.

Fadillah had responded to Hamzah’s complaints by dismissing them as “baseless” and unveiling the MOU’s contents on Monday.

Despite the opposition’s decision to reject the MOU, government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil had said the government is still open to further collaboration or negotiations on the matter.

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