‘Be the same people we were before’ - Govt MP makes plea for equal allocations

PARLIAMENT | Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Warisan-Kota Belud) today urged the government to honour the principles it championed in the opposition by giving all MPs equal constituency allocations.

Closing her Budget 2027 debate in the Dewan Rakyat, the three-term MP said she was raising the issue for the fifth time - first as an opposition lawmaker, and now as a government backbencher.

“Give equal allocations to all members of Parliament.

“I am raising this today as a government MP. When we were in the opposition, we were the loudest in urging the government to be fair and give everyone equal allocations.

“Now that we are in power, why are we denying them their rights, and the rights of their constituents?” she said.

Isnaraissah urged Putrajaya not to use constituency funds as a political weapon against the opposition.

“Stop being a government that cuts off allocations to the opposition on the assumption that this will stop their constituents from voting for them at the next election.

“It is precisely when we are in government that we should implement all the reforms we have always wanted.

“We should remain the same people, with the same principles, regardless of which side we sit on - the left or the right,” she said.

Her appeal comes amid continued pressure on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration to provide equal constituency development funds to all MPs.

Pakatan Harapan championed equal funding while in the opposition, but the issue remains unresolved under the current federal government.

Putrajaya previously offered opposition MPs allocations through a proposed memorandum of understanding, which opposition parties rejected as making constituency funding contingent on political agreements.

Sabah spending under scrutiny

Focusing on Sabah, Isnaraissah - also the Usukan assemblyperson - questioned how federal allocations translate into actual development spending.

Budget 2027 allocates RM18.7 billion in total federal spending for Sabah, but she cautioned against comparing this with previous annual development allocations of about RM5 billion to RM7 billion, as the figure includes operating expenditure such as federal personnel salaries.

“So let us not be too proud just because RM18.7 billion has been announced.

“In reality, operating expenditure has always been the responsibility of the federal government,” she said, adding that it was separate from Sabah’s 40 percent revenue entitlement.

She called for the allocation to be broken down by ministry, with future budgets clearly itemising Sabah-specific spending on schools, hospitals, clinics, and other projects.

Citing federal expenditure estimates and audited financial statements, she said RM19.8 billion was announced for Sabah from 2023 to 2025, but only RM4.22 billion could be traced to items specifically identified for the state.

“The rest may be under other items or allocations combined with Sarawak, such as the Pan Borneo Highway.

“Perhaps nobody in this House can answer that. Maybe only the person who wrote the book knows,” she said.

Allocations revised downwards

Isnaraissah also highlighted sharp downward revisions to Sabah allocations.

In 2023, she said, the RM737 million initially allocated for road construction was reduced to RM27.2 million, with RM24.9 million eventually spent. Rural electricity funding was cut from RM284.5 million to RM43.3 million, while rural water supply funding fell from RM131.6 million to RM74.5 million.

Across 2023 and 2024, she said RM1.83 billion in specifically itemised Sabah allocations was reduced during the financial year, while more than RM1.9 billion announced for the state was not spent.

“If you cut the allocation down to exactly the level needed to meet your KPI, of course you can say you spent 90 or 100 percent.

“Technically, that is not wrong. But in terms of rights, in terms of fairness to Sabah - where every day we are talking about water, electricity, and roads - I do not even know what to say,” she said.

Special grant not a substitute

Isnaraissah welcomed the increase in Sabah’s special grant under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution to RM1.5 billion annually, but stressed that it was a constitutional entitlement.

“It is not a substitute for development that has been promised through the budget,” she added.

Budget 2027 provides Sabah with RM18.7 billion, up from RM17.6 billion this year, while the interim special grant for Sabah and Sarawak has been raised from RM600 million to RM1.5 billion for each state.

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