N Sembilan Harapan reps told to return three months of state allocations

The Negeri Sembilan state executive council has decided that all Pakatan Harapan assemblypersons must return their state allocations for July, August, and September, said Lenggeng assemblyperson Asna Amin.

In a post on Facebook today, Asna (above), who chairs the industry, technology, innovation and digital affairs committee, said Harapan assemblypersons were no longer entitled to use government allocations for constituency welfare after the dissolution of the state assembly.

He said the directive extended to former excos, who have been told to return their allocations for August and September as they no longer hold their exco positions.

"This decision was made to ensure that all use of government allocations is in line with the current situation after the dissolution of the state assembly as well as to maintain transparency and integrity in the financial management of the state government," he added.

Asna said the move also came amid controversy surrounding an RM180,000 allocation involving former state tourism, arts and culture committee chairperson Nicole Tan.

On June 30, two Negeri Sembilan Urimai representatives filed reports with MACC alleging abuse of power and misuse of public funds involving RM3.06 million in state allocations disbursed shortly before the state assembly was dissolved.

Sarawanan Nagayah and Mahendran Ramasamy said the funds were channelled to 17 constituencies, matching the number of Harapan-held seats in Negeri Sembilan.

“A day prior to the dissolution… the Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar’s Office issued an official letter informing that a sum of RM180,000 had been transferred via electronic funds transfer to a state assemblyperson,” they said.

Meant for use during polls?

Based on the RM180,000 allocation per constituency cited in the letter, the total for 17 constituencies would amount to RM3.06 million.

They said that, according to the letter, the funds were for the welfare of constituents from July to September, inferring that the funds were meant for use during the election.

The duo also shared a photo of the purported letter signed by Azmi Abdul Manap, senior private secretary to Aminuddin Harun, who was the caretaker menteri besar at the time.

A week later, Tan's special officer, Ng Wai Yee, lodged a police report after a social media post accused Tan and Aminuddin of misappropriating RM180,000 in state funds.

"I saw a post on the Facebook page titled 'Reformati Studio Albert Tei', which displayed a poster titled ‘Himpunan Tangkap 2 Pencuri’ (Rally to Capture Two Thieves).

"The poster featured images of Aminuddin and Tan, who were labelled 'Thief 1' and 'Thief 2', along with allegations of abuse of power, fraud, and misappropriation of funds amounting to RM180,000," The Star quoted her as saying.

She denied the baseless and defamatory allegations, stressing that the RM180,000 had been allocated for public welfare before the dissolution of the state legislative assembly and disbursed in line with established procedures.

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