Fadhli 'almost cries' over govt MP's 'insufficient allocations'

PARLIAMENT | Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN-Pasir Mas) mocked government lawmaker V Ganabatirau (Harapan-Klang) for saying his constituency did not have enough allocations due to its size.

“Regarding the allocation of funds mentioned by Klang just now, the Parliamentary Services Act, I heard Klang’s complaint, I almost wept, I almost shed tears.

“I was touched and sad because Klang said the allocations for his people were not enough.

“My heart was touched and I sympathise with what the MPs on the government bloc are experiencing.

“It’s alright if we (the opposition) don’t have allocations. Never mind, our people will not eat rice, maybe they will eat sand,” Fadhli (above) said during his debate on the Supply Bill 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Just before that, Ganabatirau complained it would be unfair to give equal allocations to all MPs as his constituency of Klang comprised more than 215,000 voters.

In comparison, the parliamentary constituency with the highest number of voters is Bangi in Selangor with 303,000 while the lowest is Igan in Sarawak with 28,000.

Fadhli’s sarcasm stems from the longstanding back-and-forth between the federal government and the opposition over allocations for opposition-held constituencies.

In September, Perikatan Nasional leaders rejected Putrajaya’s draft agreement on allocations for opposition-held constituencies.

PN chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan said new terms were needed if his coalition was to participate in hammering out a deal as the current terms were “completely unacceptable”.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof said he is still open to discussions with opposition MPs on allocation for their constituencies.

So far, only Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar) has submitted a response to the draft MOU and the government is looking into his counter-proposal, Fadillah said.

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