COMMENT | Enact equal funding, don't weaponise it to control opposition

COMMENT | Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) calls for federal and state laws to guarantee equitable access to constituency development funding (CDF) for all elected representatives regardless of party affiliations for Parliament and all state seats.

This should be part of a cross-party peace deal to strengthen multiparty democracy.

Projek Sama criticises any attempt by any government to use CDF to control opposition parties or to entice the defection of individual opposition lawmakers, which is an assault on multiparty democracy.

Projek Sama expresses grave concern over the news that a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) was proposed and sent by the Madani government to the opposition coalition laying out seven conditions for allocating CDF for opposition lawmakers.

Projek Sama rejects the misleading comparison of this draft MOU and the MOU on Transformation and Political Stability (the first MOU) signed in September 2021 between the then-Keluarga Malaysia government and the then-opposition Pakatan Harapan.

Then, the Keluarga Malaysia government had a fragile majority and needed a confidence and supply agreement, what the first MOU essentially was.

Hollowing party democracy

In stark contrast, the Madani government now has a two-thirds majority to govern.

To weaponise the allocation of CDF - which comes from all taxpayers including opposition supporters - to blackmail the opposition MPs into backing the government, if the report is true, is hollowing multiparty democracy, and goes against the principles of trust, respect, care and compassion of Madani, and not at all an innovation Malaysia needs.

For the record, six Bersatu MPs switched their allegiance to back the Madani government in exchange for CDF. This enticement was a slap to the anti-hopping law which Harapan and BN pushed hard and was promised and implemented as the most important institutional reform of the first MOU.

Ironically, access to CDF was also a key demand in this MOU by Harapan, which has long suffered the undemocratic denial of CDF, a legacy of BN’s one-party state till 2018.

We appreciate the Madani government’s concern to promote political stability and move the country away from 3R (race, religion and royalty).

But this needs to be done by promoting healthy and professional competition on policy, competence and integrity, not by suppressing competition.

We call upon the Madani government and Perikatan Nasional to negotiate a “Pact for Political Stability and Accountability” which includes but goes beyond CDF to promote policy competition and moves the country away from 3R politics:

1. Legislation for equal CDF;

2. Fixed Term Parliament Act;

3. Parliamentary reform to enhance the roles of opposition MPs and government backbenchers;

4. Recognition of and resources for the opposition’s shadow cabinet;

5. Intergovernmental Committee 2.0 which includes the federal government and all 13 state governments to negotiate decentralisation and local democracy;

6. Ten-year tenure limit for PM; and

7. A Royal Commission of Inquiry into constituency delimitation and electoral system change.

In the absence of ideas, identity politics thrives. Without policy competition, the country will inevitably be stuck with 3R politics.

On equal CDF, Projek Sama commends Perak and Kelantan for implementing it since December 2020 and November 2023 respectively.

We call upon the governments of the two states to legislate their good practice, especially if the federal government fails or refuses to take the lead.

This statement is by Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama), the latest initiative to advocate for institutional reforms.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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