Funding our MPs

ARCHIVES 2009

By admin-s On Jun 15, 2009

By Deborah Loh (The Nut Graph)

PARLIAMENT'S suspension of Puchong legislator Gobind Singh Deo's allowances and benefits for a year is revealing. That Gobind, who has filed a suit against his suspension, is an opposition Member of Parliament (MP) makes the whole exercise more telling.

The episode betrays a mindset about the concept of a parliamentary opposition, and the underlying attitude towards the electorate. It is an attitude which disregards the fact that voters pay taxes and thus rightfully expect returns, even if their MP sits on the left side of the Dewan Rakyat Speaker.

Beyond Gobind's suspension and his loss of salary, however, are our MPs getting enough to perform their roles as community problem-solvers and as lawmakers? What funding is available to them so that they can fulfil their responsibilities to voters? Who controls these funds?

What an MP gets

An MP gets about RM15,000 a month from their parliamentary income but as Gobind reveals, the money is used up fast for service centre expenses and donations to welfare organisations and community projects. Even attendance at a wedding or funeral costs the MP money because a donation is expected.

Tony Pua (file pic)

Apart from their parliamentary earnings, MPs can also tap into the Prime Minister's special fund (Peruntukan Khas Perdana Menteri) for constituency development. This amount varies from year to year. In 2008, it was RM500,000 per constituency.

However, this fund is not for MPs to use directly but is meant to finance projects within their constituencies. MPs must apply to the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) under the Prime Minister's Department. If their application is approved, the money is disbursed and the project implemented through the State Development Office (SDO) in each state, which is under the ICU and therefore a federal agency.

While in principle the funds are available to all MPs regardless of political affiliation, some Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs allege discriminatory treatment.

DAP's Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said that in response to his application for a project in his constituency, he was told by the Selangor SDO to go to the PR state government for funds.

"The SDO letter did not specifically say that there were no funds for Pakatan MPs, but instead redirected me to the state government," Pua told The Nut Graph.

Rasah MP Anthony Loke, also of DAP, had some success in securing RM10,000 for upgrading works in a school in Seremban, but the money was approved six months after his application, and he didn't find out about it from the SDO.

"I only found out from the school later. It was made to look as if I had no hand in helping the school get the money," Loke said. He notes that it's not about getting credit as the elected representative, but that a BN-controlled agency would take pains to create the perception that PR MPs are not serving their constituents.