KUCHING: The government has affirmed its commitment to establishing a committee to facilitate discussion on allocations for opposition MPs, provided they formally submit a proposal detailing their requests.
In stating this, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said opposition leaders had previously stated they rejected the the government’s proposed draft of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on allocations for Perikatan Nasional (PN) MPs, thus making it necessary for them to provide a written commitment before any discussion could proceed.
“The problem is that the opposition has already made a statement that they do not want it and have said so in a media conference before.
“I need their commitment. That is why I said, submit a proposal letter stating what they want,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters after the handover of yearly grants to the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK), Mosque and Surau in his Petra Jaya parliamentary constituency at Dewan Datu Merpati Jepang, here on Saturday.
Fadillah, who heads the Government Consultative Council Committee added that without a formal request, discussions would be meaningless.
“Once there is a proposal letter, only then can we form a committee. Otherwise, they speak to the media but do not implement anything. So, what is the point? Nothing can be done,”he said.
He reiterated that once a proposal is received, the government will establish a committee at both the government and opposition levels to facilitate discussions.
“But right now, what is there to discuss? Because they have said they do not want it anymore, and the only one who wants it is Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman,” he said.
Previously, PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan confirmed that he had discussed the matter with Fadillah, with opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin aware of the communication.
He also said that they would deliberate on the next steps.
