KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — Only Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has officially responded to the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on allocations for Opposition MPs so far, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
Syed Saddiq, from the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance, had also requested certain amendments to the MoU, which the government is willing to consider.
“If no official response is received from other opposition MPs, it is likely that only Yang Berhormat Muar will be eligible for this allocation,” she said during a Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Dr Zaliha was responding to Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim's motion urging the Federal government to review the MoU concerning allocations for Opposition MPs.
She added that the draft MoU was submitted by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is also the Government Chief Whip, to Opposition Chief Whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan on September 15.
However, it was rejected without any feedback from the Opposition.
“In my discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister (Fadillah), it was noted that the negotiation process between the government and the opposition has essentially stalled because the opposition has yet to provide any official feedback. Therefore, there is no reason for the government to resume negotiations.
“To use an analogy, it is as if the government has made a proposal to the Opposition, but since there was no reply... it would not be appropriate for the government to propose again,” Dr Zaliha said.
— Bernama
